Part IV Activities of Organizations, Ch.24 Democracy Promotion

Subject(s):

Democracy — Federal states — Foreign relations law — Humanitarian intervention — International organizations, practice and procedure

This chapter examines the extent to which international organizations (IOs) engage in democracy promotion. It finds that democratic norms are being articulated and acted upon by IOs. As evidence, it looks to the development of democracy's normative roots as well as the following operational activities: electoral assistance, the good governance agenda of development programs, and peace-building. It argues that these activities are both rooted in and have had on impact on the normative climate in which IOs operate — both in a positive and negative way. The chapter does not argue that an international right to democracy exists — there is still too much contestation to make that claim. Rather, it uses the activities of IOs as a yardstick for measuring whether, how, and to what extent such a right may crystallize.