Conflict Prevention and Stabilization: Democracy Building in U.S. Foreign Policy

IWP 621
Four credits

This course explores the relationship between promoting a strong civil society and democratic governance abroad, especially in light of extremist developments emerging in many Islamic societies. The major themes of this course include: defining "civil society" in historical and comparative terms; civil society and the rise of the modern nation-state; the relationship between culture, religion and government; how "civil society building" is conducted in practice; post-Cold War challenges in building civil society, with special focus on endemic corruption worldwide; and finally, civil society as a cauldron for extremism in the Islamic world.

"Democratization, sometimes known as 'nation-building' and, most recently, as 'stability and reconstruction,' has played an increasingly central role in U.S. foreign policy. But neither the strategic objectives nor the tactics have been properly thought out in every instance, despite the heavy investment by the U.S. and its allies, and high stakes for world peace."
-Dr. Juliana Pilon

Required Texts

Civil Society: Theory, History, Comparison, John Hall
Globalization, Power, and Democracy, Marc Plattner & Aleksander Smolar
Funding Virtue: Civil Society Aid and Democracy Promotion, Marina Ottaway & Thomas Carothers

Semester Available

Summer Semester

Special Note

Previously entitled, "Democratization, Nation Building, and US Foreign Policy"

Principal Professor

Juliana Geran Pilon

Faculty Chairman; Director, Center for Culture and Security; Professor of Politics and Culture {read more}

Request more information

FEATURED FACULTY

Ross H. Munro

Vice President and Director of Asian Studies, Center for Security Studies; and consultant to the National Intelligence Council and the Department of Defense

Enemy Threat Doctrine

This course will analyze in depth the context in which this politico-religious ideology was born, how it evolved and the core texts that inform today's enemies of the United States. Students will assess how well the U.S. Government understands this new foe and whether its response to date has been adequate.

Principal Professor

Sebastian Gorka