ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by noting the malaise that currently hangs over the international democracy promotion industry and then draws attention to recent literature that seeks to identify global public goods. It shows whether that literature has the potential to offer insights into the current condition and future prospects of international democracy promotion, by throwing features of the 'market' for democracy promotion on both the supply and demand side into sharper relief. The chapter dwells mainly on the subject of democracy assistance and takes the polyarchical understanding of democracy as a given, but that does not mean it should not be subjected to close critical examination. A market is an institution in which exchanges take place in a more or less patterned way. The chapter assesses more precisely the demand for democracy assistance there is a sense in which the supply side actors might have to be brought into the equation too.
