In 2005, two decades after President Victor Paz Estenssoro's New Economic Policy heralded the beginning of a profound transformation for Bolivia, violence had become endemic in the country, economic growth was weak, and political corruption was flourishing. Evo Morales was elected to the presidency in a climate of intense social conflict and disorder, promising to deconstruct the entire    More >

Why did a clique of Mauritanian officers risk their lives to overthrow the autocrat they had served for twenty years, only to cede power to an elected civilian? And having won acclaim for their commitment to a process of democratic transition, why did most of these officers join a year later to overthrow the newly elected president? Had the international community been fooled by a military    More >

Considerable material and human resources are devoted to building democratic institutions around the world. Why, then, do assistance programs fail to meet their proclaimed goals? And why aren't these programs changed or abandoned when they fail? Using US assistance to women's NGOs in postcommunist Ukraine as a case study, Kateryna Pishchikova shows why democracy promotion programs have a    More >