The Conceptual Politics of Democracy Promotion

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How do different meanings of the concept of ‘democracy’ operate in democracy promotion? How do conceptual decisions influence real political events? How is policy and reflection on democracy promotion shaped by the way different practitioners and scholars understand democracy? The Conceptual Politics of Democracy Promotion explores the way in which the meaning, content and context of ‘democracy’ are interpreted by different actors in democracy promotion, and how these influence political decisions. Introducing a theoretically new approach to the study of democracy promotion, the volume shows how the alternate ways that democracy can be understood reflects specific interpretations of political and normative ideals, as well as being closely tied to social power relations, interests, and struggles between political actors. With original contributions from some of the most prominent specialists on democracy promotion and democratization, the book examines a number of concrete cases of democracy promotion and contestation over democracy’s meaning. Re-examining democracy promotion at its time of crisis, this book will be of interest scholars and students of democracy and democratization, politics and international relations, international law, development studies and political theory. The Conceptual Politics of Democracy Promotion Copyright Contents Notes on contributors Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction: the conceptual politics of democracy promotion PART I: Orientations 1 On ‘cultivating’ democracy: enlivening the imagery for democracy promotion 2 Conceptualizing democratization and democratizing conceptualization: a virtuous circle 3 Liberalism and democracy promotion 4 The past and future of social democracy and the consequences for democracy promotion 5 Democracy promotion: neoliberal vs social democratic telos 6 Misunderstanding the maladies of liberal democracy promotion PART II: Cases 7 The conceptual politics of democracy promotion in Bolivia 8 Liberal democracy promotion and civil society strengthening in Ghana 9 Concepts of democracy among donors and recipients of democracy promotion: an empirical pilot study 10 Arab democratization and the de-imagining of authoritarian community: beyond Orientalism and Occidentalism 11 The conceptual politics of democracy in international law 12 From ‘fortunate vagueness’ to ‘democratic globalism’: American democracy promotion as imperialism Conclusion: reflections on a new approach in a new era of democracy promotion Bibliography Index