The UN Role in Promoting Democracy: Between Ideals and Reality

The notion of democracy is a key principle of the United Nations and underpins much of its work. This book considers and questions the modalities, effectiveness and controversies of the UN’s work in promoting and assisting democracy. It examines if the UN can help to build the foundations of democracy and whether, as an "external" actor, it can have a substantive positive impact upon the development of democratic governance inside societies. It explores how the normative ideals of democracy interact with the realities of power in the international arena and in the societies in which the UN works, provideing a timely analysis of the prospects and limitations of the UN’s work in this area, and of the broader field of democracy promotion.