How much has US succeeded in building democracy in the world since Term Paper

How much has US succeeded in building democracy in the world since world war 2 - Term Paper Example The Cold War, with its potential threat of nuclear conflict, was a very big threat to democracy in the world, and the United States, in the presidency of John F. Kennedy kept the world from a third major war. In this period, America played the role of peacemaker, and counter-balance to Soviet power. The difference between Communism and Capitalism expressed itself both economically and politically, and it took many years for Communism to fall, and the forces of democratic capitalism to take over. In this phase, too, America promoted democracy and proved in the end to be successful. Although America failed to establish military dominance in the Cold War, during this time from the 1950s to the 1980s America supported the creation of world agencies like NATO, the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary fund (IMF). These non-state entities represent crucial attempts to spread a Western style democracy across the world. In her article about global democracy, A.M. Slaughter notes that â€Å"Power is certainly military. It is certainly economic.† (Slaughter, 2000, p. 225) and makes the point that it is in America’s own interest to promote systems and organizations which operate along American style lines. Through these agencies the United States promoted democracy and pursued its own interests at the same time. This joint objective is in fact the reason why the United States has in the end only partially been successful in building democracy across the world. Some of the military interventions that have happened seem to focus more on the United States’ desire to advance its own agenda, such as resisting communism in Korea, or fighting Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan. The line between stopping human rights atrocities, as in Kosovo, and implementing regime change as in Iraq