Democracy assistance: The question of strategy

The current expansion of efforts by most western donors to use assistance to promote democracy in other countries raises many questions about the forms and functions of such aid. This article addresses the question of strategy: what approach to democracy and democratization does such assistance embody? The analysis concentrates on US aid although the argument is advanced that the democracy‐related aid of other donors does not differ substantially in terms of basic approach. The article finds that although US democracy assistance rests on a conventional model of western liberal democracy, it also rests on a less clearly‐established model of democratization that can best be characterized as one of institutional modeling. The sources of this model of democratization as well as its practical strengths and weaknesses are examined. The article concludes with an assessment of the ways in which aid practitioners are attempting to move beyond the existing approach to more innovative, effective strategies of democratic promotion.