Assessing Democracy Assistance: The Case of Romania

by Thomas Carothers

In recent years, assistance aimed at promoting democracy abroad has become a major component of U.S. foreign aid and of the U.S. government's post-Cold War policy of seeking to enlarge the international community of democratic nations. Despite its rapid growth, however, democracy assistance remains poorly understood in practice and its value is frequently questioned. This landmark study, an examination of U.S. democracy assistance efforts in Romania, is the first comprehensive analysis of the workings—and failings—of U.S. democracy assistance in one country. Based on the author's extensive field research, the study provides widely applicable answers to key questions about the value, strategies, methods, and future of such assistance.

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Thomas Carothers is an American lawyer and international relations scholar. His research focuses on international democracy support, democratization, and U.S. foreign policy. He is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he founded and currently co-directs the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. He has also taught at several universities in the United States and Europe, including Central European University, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Nuffield College, Oxford.
Carothers has served in various senior management positions at the Carnegie Endowment, including as the interim president of the Endowment in 2021, and as senior vice president for studies for many years.