Understanding Illiberal Democracy: A Framework

TLDR: In the US, it is often assumed without argument that liberal democracy also meets the deeper aspirations of the rest of the world, most notably by Francis Fukuyama with his now infamous claim that we are witnessing an 'end of history' in which liberal democracy has finally triumphed over all its rivals.

Abstract: Liberal democratic ideals and institutions command almost universal allegiance in Western societies, a phenomenon to be understood in the light of the West’s shared history and culture. In what seems like an all too obvious theoretical mistake, however, it is often assumed without argument that liberal democracy also meets the deeper aspirations of the rest of the world, most notably by Francis Fukuyama with his now infamous claim that we are witnessing an ‘end of history’ in which liberal democracy has finally triumphed over all its rivals. More concretely, this blind faith in the universal potential of liberal democracy takes the form of a US governmental policy to promote liberal democracy abroad, regardless of local needs, habits, and traditions, and not unexpectedly moral exhortation has proven far less effective than in the days when General MacArthur could forcibly impose democratic forms of government on recalcitrant countries. In short, democracy activists have encountered much resistance in non-Western contexts, and the task of exporting liberal democracy appears to be a great deal more complicated than optimists had supposed in the heady days after the collapse of communism in the Soviet bloc.