Democracy Promotion: An Objective of U.S. Foreign Assistance Page: 7 of 23
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Democracy Promotion: An Objective of U.S. Foreign Assistance
such assistance must support representative, multiparty systems and not seek to determine
election outcomes.'5 NED is also prohibited by provisions in its authorization from using funds
for partisan political purposes, including funding for national party operations and support for
specific candidates.16
A History of U.S. Democracy Assistance
Resources and attention to U.S. democracy promotion assistance have varied among
Administrations and Congresses-with other interests, including U.S. security concerns,
variously bolstering and competing with democracy promotion objectives.
Communism and the Cold War
In the aftermath of World War II, the United States supported democratization efforts in Germany
and Japan, but also supported the overthrow of democratically elected regimes in Iran and
Guatemala. As one scholar described this period, "stability took precedence over values and the
fight against communism over the promotion of democracy."'7 Stability was the primary foreign
policy objective of the Lyndon B. Johnson, Nixon, and Ford Administrations, during which it was
perceived that stable dictators were better for U.S. interests than countries in democratic
transition, which may be susceptible to communism.
Democracy and human rights promotion gained traction in U.S. foreign policy in the 1970s.
Congress took a lead on this issue, amending the Foreign Assistance Act in 1975 to restrict aid to
the governments of countries that engaged in a consistent pattern of "gross violations" of human
rights, as detailed in the legislation,'8 and creating the position of Coordinator for Human Rights
and Humanitarian Affairs at State in 1976.19 Elected during a Cold War thaw, President Carter
emphasized democracy promotion as part of a broader human rights agenda, particularly with
respect to Central and South America.20 With the support of Congress, the Carter Administration
used foreign assistance to promote this human rights agenda primarily through use of negative
conditionality-reducing aid to human rights violators, especially military aid to Latin America,
in the early years of his Administration. Stability was still a concern, however, and President
Carter sought reform within existing regimes, not the overthrow of totalitarians.21
Upon taking office in 1981, President Reagan immediately resumed the assistance to Latin
America on which Carter had put conditions (this assistance was later sharply curbed by
Congress) and focused on the existential threat it saw in communism rather than promoting
'5 USAID Political Party Assistance Policy, PD-ABY-359, September 2003, p. 1
16 22 U.S.C. 4414(a).
'7 Daniela Huber, Democracy Promotion in Foreign Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, p. 51.
18 P.L. 94-161, the International Development and Food Assistance Act.
19 The Ford Administration had created the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs position the year before, but Congress
changed the title to add human rights and made the positon a presidential appointment subject to advice and consent of
the Senate. For a history of the position, see https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/principalofficers/
assistant-secretary-for-democracy-human-rights-labor-affairs.
20 Huber, p. 67.
21 President Carter reversed his human-rights oriented approach to Central America in his last year in office, after the
fall of the U.S.-backed Somoza regime in Nicaragua, and started sending military aid, including lethal aid, to the
government of El Salvador, a notable human rights violator.Congressional Research Service
4
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Lawson, Marian L. & Susan B. Democracy Promotion: An Objective of U.S. Foreign Assistance, report, May 31, 2017; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1020840/m1/7/?q=%22foreign+aid%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.