ABSTRACT
‘Democratic realism’ accounts for the indeterminacy in values promotion by a consideration of power dynamics that widen or narrow the geopolitical room for manoeuvre and history affecting short- and long-term priorities. Alliance policy results from one hegemonic interest and several followers that on balance were interested in the maintenance or expansion of liberal order. However, NATO and the West are increasingly struggling with resistance strategies of imitation, by which target states attempt to maximise the perception of reform while minimising the impact on domestic vested interests.
