America’s promotion of democracy has always been highly imperfect. But the superiority of democracy—and the ideas that animate it—make it essential to securing America’s future.
October 2025
American support for democracy around the world during the Cold War was imperfect, hypocritical, and sometimes ineffective. At times, especially after the communist takeover in China in 1949 and again in the 1970s, communism appeared to be winning the contest of ideas. But the trend eventually reversed. By the end of the Cold War, more people and countries embraced democratic ideas. U.S. policies and programs contributed positively to this phenomenon. They can again today. The good news is that the ideological threat from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia is not nearly as intense or global as the Soviet ideological challenge. The bad news is that democratic forces have achieved very few outright victories in the past decade.
Globally, we have endured two decades of democratic recession. The challenges of democratic backsliding are compounded by the perception, especially in the developing world, of a well-performing Chinese economic model. Putin’s brand of orthodox nationalist populism has attracted millions of followers in the older democracies of Europe and the United States. There is also a growing perception that democracy both new and old is not delivering. In the struggle between autocrats and democrats in the twenty-first century, some have begun to wonder which side the United States is on.
Democracy promotion was a vital part of America’s strategy for winning the Cold War and will be essential for competing effectively with China and Russia for many years to come. In the current era of great-power competition, the superiority of America’s democratic ideas is one of its most significant advantages. China may outperform the United States in making electric vehicles. Russia has many more military mercenaries than America does. But both are far behind the United States and its democratic allies in the contest of ideas. When was the last time you saw tens of thousands protesting in the streets to demand dictatorship or Communist Party rule? Even during the past two decades of democratic decay, mass protests in support of democracy still happen frequently in repressive countries such as Belarus, Iran, and Venezuela. People go to jail for years or are killed for supporting democratic ideas. Two of my friends—Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny—were killed in Russia for holding the audacious belief that the Russian people should elect their leaders. Jails in Hong Kong and Xinjiang are filled with brave people with similar beliefs. No one goes to jail in democracies today for supporting communism or Putinism.
There is a reason why people are inspired by democracy. It is a better system. As Churchill said, “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Democracy is more effective in representing the interests of citizens because they can hold their leaders accountable. Mao, Stalin, Hitler, and Pol Pot slaughtered millions of their citizens and people in neighboring countries. Mass killings, including famines, do not happen in democracies. On average, democracies outperform autocracies in economic development, health, education, and security. It is no accident that the wealthiest countries in the world are also the most democratic in the world. Nine of the world’s ten largest economies are democracies, and democracies dominate the top of the list of countries in terms of both GDP per capita and the World Bank’s Human Development Index. On average, democratic breakthroughs produce higher growth rates than the previous dictatorships. In addition, public-opinion polls show that most people in the world prefer democracy to other forms of government. Most dictators pretend to be democrats, another indicator of democracy’s global appeal. Advocates for democracy worldwide — ministers in democratic governments and human-rights activists fighting against autocratic regimes — want to see the United States in the business of supporting democracy.
The spread of democracy also advances American security and economic interests. Almost every American adversary has been a dictatorship. Not every past or present autocracy is an enemy of the United States, but every American enemy has been an autocracy. All of America’s adversaries today — China, Russia, Iran, North Korea — are autocracies. The deadly cocktail of autocracy and power has consistently threatened American security — in World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and today. Conversely, the expansion of democracy has enhanced our security. Democratic transitions created new American allies in Germany, Italy, Japan, and Eastern Europe. The expansion of democracy has opened markets for American business and given U.S. companies new investment and trade opportunities.
U.S. efforts to advance democracy have achieved limited results in the past two decades. But we succeeded during the Cold War in advancing democratic ideas. American leaders should learn from our past successes to more effectively support democracy today.
The above is an excerpt from Michael McFaul’s new book, Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder (Mariner Books, 2025).
Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, is professor of political science at Stanford University, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Copyright © 2025 National Endowment for Democracy
Image credit: SERGEY BOBYLEV/POOL/AFP
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