Security Through Democracy? The Legacy of the Bush Administration and the Future Role of Democracy Promotion in American Foreign Policy

One of the many consequences of the attacks on 11 September 2001 was the rise of democracy promotion on the foreign policy agenda of the United States. The underlying rationale was the assumption that there was a causal connection between the so-called ‘freedom deficit’ in the Middle East and the emergence of violent extremism. Based on a critical assessment of the United States’ past commitment to stability and support of autocratic regimes in the region, President George W. Bush proposed a new policy agenda that would, instead, push for political reform and establish democratic transformation as a long-term goal. In one of his most programmatic speeches on this topic, President Bush argued: ‘Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe – because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty. As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export. And with the spread of weapons that can bring catastrophic harm to our country and to our friends, it would be reckless to accept the status quo’ (Bush, 2003). The President then announced: ‘Therefore, the United States has adopted a new policy, a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East. This strategy requires the same persistence and energy and idealism we have shown before.