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Articles

Vol. 43 No. 1 (2023)

Democratization by Convenience: Materialist- Utilitarian Explanations of Democracy Promotion

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-090x2023005000106
Submitted
April 10, 2023
Published
2023-06-09
Versions

Abstract

In Latin America, recent processes of democratic backsliding have tested the robustness of the Inter-American democratic system (IADS). Based on theoretical frameworks of democ­racy promotion, hypotheses stemming from institutionalist and normative theories suffer from important limitations in explaining the liberal democracies’ motivations to act in the face of anti-democratic threats. Analyzing the cases of democratic regression in Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and the consequent responses from the Caribbean Community’s (Caricom) liberal democracies vis-à-vis these autocracies, this article cor­roborates that democracy promotion responds to a materialistic-utilitarian hypothesis that prioritizes material cost-benefit calculations over democratic norms and institutions. The analysis reveals that the worrying but real prevalence of power politics over democratic principles challenges the solidity of the IADS.

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