Threats to Democracy Prevention and Response

The work of the international community of democratic states does not end when a country's people choose democracy. Rather, democratic governments must endeavor also to help one another to nurture and maintain their democracies. In particular, governments must work to secure more effective international action against coups d'etat and erosions of democracy, which continue to plague countries on the democratic path. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed this best when he stated, "Wherever democracy has taken root, it will not be reversed." This report -- the work of an Independent Task Force composed of leading civil society, academic, and former government figures from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East -- develops a framework for the coordination of international community action against such threats to democracy. It recommends preventive and responsive measures that will enable the international community of democratic states to act quickly and collectively.The Task Force argues that helping countries maintain and consolidate democratic gains is consistent not only with the values but also with the security interests of the world's democracies. Democratic states are less likely to breed terrorists or to be state sponsors of terrorism They are less likely to go to war with one another and are more likely to be active participants in the global economy. The report concludes that ultimately the international community can encourage democracy to take root and flourish only by showing the citizens of nondemocratic countries that democracy is both beneficial and sustainable over the long term. The recommendations in this report provide one important setof tools for doing so.Albright, Madeleine is the author of 'Threats to Democracy Prevention and Response', published 2003 under ISBN 9780876093252 and ISBN 087609325X.