Join the Harriman Institute at Columbia University for a panel discussion on the impact of democracy promotion in post-Soviet states.

For most of the last three decades, the US has sought to promote democracy in most of the countries that once constituted the Soviet Union. The results can charitably be described as mixed. The “other than the Baltic States” mantra notwithstanding, in the rest of the region these efforts have led to a handful of democratic breakthroughs, no meaningful democratic consolidation, widespread frustration and a recognition that the work is much more complex than initially thought.

This panel will bring together practitioners, scholars and other relevant actors to reflect on the impact of the democracy promotion project in the region. The discussion will explore the work of democracy promotion, what it got right, what it got wrong and what the future might hold.

Democracy promotion has been a key thematic understanding of US foreign policy globally, but particularly in this region. This panel will provide an opportunity to discuss and think about these questions.

Speakers

Sarah Bush, Associate Professor of Political Science, Yale University; Research Fellow, Yale MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies

Tom Carothers, Senior Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Richard Miles, former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia

Lincoln Mitchell, Political Analyst; Former Associate, Harriman Institute