Democracy in the Face of Terror

President George W. Bush was famous for proclaiming democracy promotion as a central focus of American foreign policy. He was not alone in this rhetoric. Most US presidents since Woodrow Wilson have made similar statements.

So it was a striking departure when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified to Congress earlier this year about the “three D’s” of American foreign policy – defense, diplomacy, and development. The “D” of democracy was glaringly absent, suggesting a fundamental policy change by President Barack Obama’s administration.