The Taming of Democracy Assistance

Few government programs that aid democracy abroad today seek to foster regime change. Technical programs that do not confront dictators are more common than the aid to dissidents and political parties that once dominated the field. What explains this ‘taming’ of democracy assistance? To understand this question, Sarah Bush has analyzed large datasets of democracy assistance projects and conducted field research in Tunisia and Jordan. She offers a new way of thinking about foreign influence and NGOs in world politics and in the Middle East.