Delusions of Liberty: Rethinking Democracy Promotion in American Grand Strategy

Abstract

As the champion of the current liberal world order, the United States has institutionalized democracy promotion as a central theme of its foreign policy. The chaotic aftermaths of the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya campaigns, however, demonstrate that the unqualified promotion of democracy via military force can work counter to American political and security interests. Furthermore, in a unipolar world, the character of the hegemon and its subsequent actions portend unprecedented implications to the international order. As such, Americas storied history of global expansionism, combined with its post-Cold War military actions in the name of democracy, contributes to a widening metaperception gap between Washington and the world.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2016
Accession Number
AD1030464

Entities

People

  • Jacob S. Sotiriadis

Organizations

  • School of Advanced Air and Space Studies

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Employment
  • Geography
  • International Law
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Military Science
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Political Systems
  • Political Theory
  • Public Policy
  • Sociopolitics
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies