Abstract
The purpose of this panel is to make significant headway in assessing and developing multilateral strategies to promote democracy. Throughout, we will focus on constructive avenues for change rather than on critique and lamentation. We begin with two diagnostic questions: What is the state of democratization in the world today? How have strategies for the promotion of democracy changed since September 11, led by the transformed U.S. agenda of war on terror? Here we will discuss recent interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as new developments in other parts ofthe world. Then we will turn to four strategies that aim to promote democracy in a changed political landscape. First,we will consider which kinds of economic reforms are conducive to democracy and which are harmful. Second, we will ask to what extent it is possible to promote democracy effectively through indirect strategies, such as building civil societies and independent judiciaries. Third, we will confront the vexed issue of how to engage authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes directly so as to demand and produce real change. Fourth, we will explore how multilateral institutions and multistakeholder initiatives could best facilitate democratization. In addition to exploring these four strategies, we will consider which economic incentives, from sanctions to corporate regulation, motivate wealthy as well as poorer states to obey democratic norms.