The Contingent Nature of Democracy Promotion

type="main"> The set of works reviewed here suggest that the problems inherent in post-Cold War democracy promotion cannot be explained solely by policy failures. Attempts to push for democracy have been met with resistance, whether in response to the imposition of democracy or to ‘softer’ approaches. Collectively, the research in these volumes suggests that if democratization efforts are to succeed, those who hope to promote them must be more reflective about their own role in the process and cognizant of the fact that democracy promotion efforts are subject to political forces at the domestic, global and intermestic levels. Bridoux , J. ( 2011 ) American Foreign Policy and Postwar Reconstruction: Comparing Japan and Iraq . Abingdon : Routledge . Burnell , P. and Schlumberger , O. (eds) ( 2012 ) International Politics and National Political Regimes: Promoting Democracy: Promoting Autocracy . Abingdon : Routledge . Zanotti , L. ( 2011 ) Governing Disorder: UN Peace Operations, International Security, and Democratization in the Post-Cold War Era . University Park PA : Penn State University Press .