Liberal Democracy and International Order

This study looks at the strategic implications of the spread of liberal democracy into the former communist countries in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and the recent process of economic and political liberalization in many parts of the developing world.

The failure of communism as an economic system and the increased disillusion with authoritarian forms of government have offered an opportunity to construct an interanational order based on liberal democratic principles. The book assesses the challenges this poses from the international community; highlights the many obstacles in consolidating liberal political and economic gains, such as the rise of extreme nationalist self-assertion; and defines the most appropriate policies for pursuing these objectives.