336-300 Honors Junior Seminar: Cultural Encounters
Spring 2000
5th section of the seminar, April 17-26
"Promoting Democracy in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia?"
Chip Gagnon, Dept. of Politics
Rm. 324 Muller Center
e-mail:
Go to the
syllabus of this experimental team-taught course and information
on the other sections.
Last revised 4/3/00
Since the end of the Cold War a major goal of US foreign policy
has been "promoting democracy worldwide." This goal
of restructuring the domestic political systems of non-western
countries is a major form of interaction between the US government
and much of the rest of the world. To achieve this goal the United
States funds, directly as well as through US non-governmental
organizations, democratization efforts around the world. Given
the centrality of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet
Union in US narratives about the nature of the international system
and the superiority of liberal democracy during the Cold War,
this region has been a particular target for US efforts.
These efforts to spread democracy are a major site of cultural
interaction in this region of Europe, and present fascinating
insight into questions of assimilation. Are these efforts assimilationist?
Or are they merely responding to the desires of the populations
of these countries for democratic political systems? What are
the assumptions about democracy inherent in US efforts? How does
the US go about spreading democracy, and how do these efforts
interact with local experiences of popular participation and conceptions
of justice, equality, and freedom? To what extent is this policy
similar to the efforts of religious missionaries? And what do
these efforts tell us about ourselves?
We'll address these questions by looking at US efforts to spread
democracy in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.
Session 1: M 4/17
US foreign policy and democratization: Why
democratization? How to democratize?
Required readings:
- Plattner, "The Democratic Moment" first
article in Course Reader (unnumbered)
- US Strategic Plan for International Affairs: Strategic
Goal: Democracy and Human Rights in Course Reader (CR),
pp.2-5
This is a document which lays out the philosophical
and policy underpinnings of US foreign policy as a whole. The
first two pages here are the overall goals; the second two focus
on the specific goal of "Democracy and Human Rights."
- "Democracy,"
US Agency for International Development in CR pp.6-9
(USAID is the US government office that is responsible
for implementing the democratization policy)
- Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright, Op-Ed on Democracy in Diario
las Americas in CR, pp.10-11
- "National
Endowment for Democracy," From the NED website,
in CR pp.14-17
Here's a description of NED from an article by
Barbara Conry, "Loose Cannon: The National Endowment for Democracy,"
Foreign Policy Briefing No.27, 11/8/93, The Cato Institute, web site:
"The National Endowment for Democracy was created in 1983
by the US Congress as a private, nonprofit corporation, although
its funding came directly from the federal government .... From
NED, approximately 70 percent of available grant money goes to
four 'core' grantees: the National Democratic Institute for International
Affairs, the International Republican Institute, the Free Trade
Union Institute of the AFL-CIO (FTUI), and the Center for International
Private Enterprise of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Those organizations,
deliberately chosen to convey a sense of balance between left
and right, labor and big business, then determine which groups
abroad receive grants for their activities to further democracy.
The remaining 30 percent of available grant money is designated
'discretionary'funding to be distributed directly by NED."
- "NDI Mission
Statement" (Skim or skip Section VI "Sample
Programs") in CR pp.18-43
The National Democratic Insitute for International
Affairs is an independent organization affiliated with the Democratic
Party that is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.
- "About IRI"
in CR p.44
The Republic party's counterpart to NDI, also
funded by NED.
- In addition to the readings, visit the web sites of several
missionary organizations. Do web searches for the word "Missionaries."
(Using AltaVista I had
no problems finding lots of sites.) Try to hit at least three
missionary sites, and be prepared to answer the following questions
about them:
- Why are missionaries trying to spread their religion? What
are the rationales given in their written literature (as posted
on web sites)? What is their motivation?
- What is the method they are using to get converts? How do
they relate to their targets?
To think about for discussion:
- What do these documents mean by "democracy"? What
exactly is the US trying to spread?
- Why is the US trying to spread democracy? What are the rationales
given in these documents for this policy? What is the motivation
of the US?
- What are the underlying assumptions behind these statements
of policy?
- What are the motivations of religious missionaries? Is there
any similarity between trying to spread religious beliefs and
trying to spread democracy?
- What are the links between the broad US goals and strategies
described in the policy documents and the specifics of what NED,
NDI and IRI are doing on the ground?
- In this material, what do NED, NDI and IRI see as missing
in the countries they're helping? How do they seem themselves
as providing the missing thing?
- Based on this material, what is the motivation of these organizations?
- How do they evaluate whether they are successful in spreading
democracy?
- Why doesn't the NED web site provide the information quoted
above about itself?
Links of interest:
Sites critical of NED:
Session 2: W 4/19
Yugoslavia: A Case Study of Democracy Assistance
Required readings:
Background on Yugoslavia and information on activities of western
NGOs in Serbia and Bosnia
Serbia:
Bosnia-Herzegovina:
To think about for discussion:
The countries that used to make up the Socialist Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia are among the targets of the US policy of democratization.
Questions we want to address today:
- Were the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo caused by a lack
of democratic experience and culture?
- What are NED, IRI and NDI seeking to provide Yugoslavia?
- Was Yugoslavia missing what the NED, IRI and NDI seek to
give countries?
- Did Yugoslavs have any notion or experience of democracy?
What kind of democracy? What are the main obstacles to democratization?
- Can the US help? Should the US help? If so, why?
Session 3: M 4/24
Yugoslavia and democratization: Critiques from on
the ground, part 1
Required readings:
To think about for discussion:
- What is the impact on the targets of our democracy assistance?
- How do other US policies, for example during the war in Kosovo,
relate to and affect the goal of democratization?
- Why is the US trying to spread democracy?
Session 4: W 4/26
Yugoslavia and democratization: Critiques from on
the ground, part 2
Required readings:
- Chandler, "Democratisation" (Chapter 1 of
his book Bosnia: Faking Democracy after Dayton) in CR,
pp.127-141
To think about for discussion:
- What does the democratization mission tell us about ourselves?
Return to Chip's page
Return to syllabus
of Honors Junior Seminar
Last revised 4/3/00