The Democracy Advantage: How Democracies Promote Prosperity and Peace

Conventional thinking is that democracy stunts development and that the U.S. must first work towards development even if it means propping up tyrants. This book impressively argues against this assertion using empirical data. The book makes an effective argument. Michael Signer, a Democratic insider, writes on his blog DemocracyArsenal.org that this theme harks back to Woodrow Wilson. Progressives today are not at the forefront of this issue and must take it back from the neocons. An interesting idea from an interesting book.

I saw the authors on Book TV when the book first came out. They were so non-dogmatic and sensible I just had to read their book. It is everything good that the professional reviews mention. Terrorism is so complex and so difficult to control. But it is a fact that terrorists and war generally do not come from democracies so spreading democracy could be our best weapon against terrorism. The book provides empirical data to make the point that under all circumstances we should leverage everything we have to help developing countries on the path to democracy. And they are not talking about militarism. They understand practical matters but they have a better way. It is all about coordination of efforts involving institutions (IMF, World Bank, IFI's like the EBRD) and countries with one goal, democracy for the world. These guys know what they are talking about and how to implement change and development without shock and awe. This is not some fun book to read. It is a combination of academic and practical thinking. But honestly it seems to hold the keys to the kingdom. They have a big picture answer.