Hudson Institute and the Pew Charitable Trusts to Host Conference on the Future of Democracy in U.S. Diplomacy

Washington—Given recent setbacks for democracy in almost every region of the world—in countries as disparate as Russia, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe—serious questions have arisen about whether meaningful democratic reform is a realistic possibility in many places and whether democracy promotion is an appropriate anchor for American foreign policy.

Can and should the core American belief in inalienable human rights be the primary basis for effective diplomacy and foreign policy? Should U.S. foreign policy be consistent with president-elect Obama's election night declaration that "the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope"? Or has a backlash against an American foreign policy focused on democracy promotion permanently hindered democracy promotion efforts around the world?

Hudson Institute and the Pew Charitable Trusts will convene a panel of distinguished experts to discuss these and other questions. Panelists include Zeyno Baran, Larry Diamond, Carl Gershman, Michael McFaul, Jack Snyder, Shibley Telhami, Leon Wieseltier, and Paul Wolfowitz.

The panel will be moderated by George Stephanopoulos, ABC News's Chief Washington Correspondent and the host of This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

Please visit http://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=hudson_upcoming_events&id=637 for more information.

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Hudson Institute is a non-partisan policy research organization dedicated to innovative research and analysis that promotes global security, prosperity, and freedom.