About the project
Democracy and freedom are under threat globally, with data from the Freedom and Prosperity Indexes showing a steady decline in political freedom and the rule of law since 2012.
Autocrats are hollowing out institutions and crushing dissent to amass political power and wealth. Authoritarian regimes in China, Russia, and Iran are suppressing their own people and working to create a world safe for autocrats by exporting surveillance technology and autocratic governance practices. These revisionist powers are mounting a well-resourced global campaign to undermine and eradicate the components of democracy that are good for the United States and bad for US adversaries.
US President Donald Trump has consistently affirmed that US actions overseas must directly benefit US citizens at home. Supporting democracy in developing countries—through diplomacy, investment, and foreign assistance—meets this criterion because the United States and its people are more secure and prosperous with a world that is free and open.
Supporting democracy abroad is not an ideological crusade centered on imposing policies on other governments. Instead, this soft-diplomacy tool centers on strengthening the infrastructure of democracy—political parties, electoral institutions, legislatures, and others—that enables citizens to choose their own leaders and govern as they see fit. This is a win-win for Americans, who receive more reliable export markets and stable allies, and citizens abroad, whose prosperity thrives via an open marketplace of ideas and policy choices.
Yet US resources are limited, and the United States must therefore prioritize which democracy-related challenges to tackle and how to do so. The Atlantic Council’s Freedom and Prosperity Center’s upcoming series, The Future of Democracy Assistance, aims to inform US democracy assistance strategy and tactics. Through a series of succinct, accessible policy papers, experts will examine the priority challenges to freedom and democracy in each major region, show why buttressing democratic institutions and practices is beneficial to the United States and broader global prosperity, and articulate policy solutions for addressing key challenges.
Led by Senior Fellow Patrick Quirk, this series will deliver insights and policy recommendations from leading experts to enhance democracy-strengthening efforts and associated policy in all regions of the world.
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The Freedom and Prosperity Center aims to increase the prosperity of the poor and marginalized in developing countries and to explore the nature of the relationship between freedom and prosperity in both developing and developed nations.
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