Promoting Democracy

How Western donor assistance can both help and undermine democracy in different parts of the world Democracy promotion is a central pillar of the foreign policy of many states, but the results are often disappointing. In Promoting Democracy, Manal A. Jamal examines why these efforts succeed in some countries, but fail in others. A former journalist and researcher in the Palestinian territories, she offers an up-close perspective of the ways in which Western donor funding has, on one hand, undermined political participation in cases such as the Palestinian territories, and, on the other hand, succeeded in bolstering political engagement in cases such as El Salvador. Based on five fieldwork trips and over 150 interviews with grassroots activists, political leaders, and directors and program officers in donor agencies and NGOs, Jamal brings into focus an often-overlooked perspective: the experiences of those directly affected by this assistance. Promoting Democracy makes an important and timely argument about how political settlements ultimately shape democracy promotion efforts, and what political choices Western state sponsored donors can make to maximize successful outcomes in different contexts across the world.

This sophisticated, penetrating, and innovative analysis draws on extensive field research and a firm command of the available literature. It represents a significant contribution to our understanding of why democracy aid succeeds or fails and the often fraught relationship between peacebuilding and democracy support., Flawless, detailed, and extremely well documented. This will become an instant classic in the list of critical studies on NGOs or civil society, and for political scientists in search of innovative South-South comparative studies., This book is superb in its quality, thoroughness, and clarity. Manal A. Jamal systematically sustains an argument in a fascinating study that is unusual for its insightful comparison of two ‘post-war’ examples of democracy promotion, with careful and textured attention to evidence, historical context, and conditions, Jamal combines mastery of the theoretical literature and political history with extensive field work, including over 150 in-depth interviews with grassroots activists, political leaders, and officials from donor agencies and NGOs., Jamal gives a fascinating and detailed account of the history of mass-based grassroots organizations both before political settlements in each country were reached and how these organizations were transformed as a result of the settlement, with additional chapters focusing on specific issues related to donor aid and (non)inclusive settlements. Her engagement with the available literature on development studies demonstrates her mastery of this subject [...] Academics and students of development studies alike would also be well served in reading this book.

Manal A. Jamal is Professor of Political Science at James Madison University. She has held research fellowship positions at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and at U.C. Berkeley's Center for Middle Eastern Studies.