ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents closing thoughts on key concepts discussed in the present chapter of this book. The book charted the progress of democracy promotion from the days when its rise and the possibility of making real achievement were virtually unquestioned to a very different outlook at the present time. Organizations committed to promoting democracy must continue to take account of larger developments in international politics, economics, and society, as well as any changes in domestic factors that favor the maintenance or spread of authoritarian and semi-authoritarian rule. Democracy support policy-makers even now face choices that were hardly salient during the years when confidence in democracy's progress and a belief in the worth of democracy promotion both stood at an all time high. Even if further substantial advances do not follow immediately, the dramatic events could be an indicator that exciting new opportunities to support democracy building will open up in the years ahead.
