Forum: Democracy Promotion and World Order

Thursday March 15, 2012, Aberystwyth University, Department of International Politics

Speakers: William Robinson (University of California, Santa Barbara), Rita Abrahamsen (University Ottawa), Jessica Schmidt (University of Westminster), Milja Kurki (Aberystwyth) and Jeff Bridoux (Aberystwyth)

Symposium organised by ‘Political Economies of Democratisation’ Research Project (European Research Council, FP7, 2008-2012). All views are those of the authors.

Download the full

 

Abstract

This event brings together some of the most prominent ‘critical’ thinkers on democracy promotion – most notably William Robinson, the author of Promoting Polyarchy and Rita Abrahamsen the author of Disciplining Democracy – to discuss the current state and prospects of democracy support activity in the world order today. In the context of the Arab Spring, the intervention in Libya, but also the financial crisis and the continuing backlash against democracy support in many target countries, how are we to think of the role and functions of democracy support in the global order? A few core questions guide the event:

1)      How does democracy support today compare to the democracy support of the 1990s? Is it the case of more of much the same or have practices, methods, attitudes or language of democracy support changed in the last ten years? If so, how?

2)      What do recent engagements between democracy promoters and recipients (in Egypt, Libya, European neighbourhood or developing states in Africa) tell us of the dynamics and power relations of democracy promotion today? What are the consequences of democracy promotion, for donors and for recipients?

3)      Can we think of democracy promotion as a practice attached to the dynamics and power relations of the ‘world order’ today? If so, of what kind of order is today’s democracy promotion practice indicative?

Programme

10.00-11.45am - Session 1. US democracy support today

                 William Robinson

                 Jeff Bridoux

                 Discussant: Daniel McCarthy

13.00-14.45 - Session 2. Democracy support and international organisations

                 Rita Abrahamsen

                 Jessica Schmidt

                 Discussant: Milja Kurki