ABSTRACT
The idea and practice of international democracy promotion has gained considerable attention over the last few years. There is now both a substantial multinational industry involved in promoting democracy abroad and a significant accumulation of scholarly studies examining the performance. The idea of promoting democracy has both an active and a passive sense, corresponding to the distinction between the promotion of democracy and democracy being promoted. Democracy can easily be lost, owing to popular apathy, indifference, or simply the absence of initial conditions that are most conducive to democratic sustainability. In contrast, democracy that is gained in the face of adversity—international adversity included—might turn out to be more secure. The exercise of restraint on democracy promotion and assistance in these circumstances could be a blessing even if it happens as a result of donor meanness or a realpolitik calculation that the country is of no special interest. Typology helps place the democracy promotion industry in perspective.
