The post-Cold War West believed democracy would spread worldwide.

Evidence

These transitions and the collapse of the Soviet Union generated in the West, particularly in the United States, the belief that a global democratic revolution was underway and that in short order Western concepts of human rights and Western forms of political democracy would prevail throughout the world. Promoting this spread of democracy hence became a high priority goal for Westerners. It was endorsed by the Bush administration with Secretary of State James Baker declaring in April 1990 that “Beyond containment lies democracy” and that for the post-Cold War world “President Bush has defined our new mission to be the promotion and consolidation of democracy.” — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 514 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

As this turbulent century draws to a dose, liberal democracy seems to be recognized as the only legitimate form of government. But does that indicate its final victory over its adversaries, as some would have it? There are serious reasons to be sceptical about such a claim. For once, it is not clear how strong is rhe present consensus and how long it williasr. While very few dare to openly chaJlenge the liberal-democratic model, the signs of disaffection with present institutions are becoming widespread. An increasing number of people feel that traditional parties have ~d to take their interests into account, and extreme rightwing parties are making important inroads in many European countries. Moreover, even among those who are resisting the call of the demagogues, there is a marked cynicism about politics and politicians, and this has a very corrosive effect on popular adhesion to democratic values. There is clearly a negative force at work in most liberal-democratic societies, which contradicts the triumphalism that we have witnessed since the collapse of Soviet communism. — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 372 (#complicates, via linked claim)

First, there is the assumption, discussed in chapter 1, that the collapse of Soviet communism meant the end of history and the universal victory of liberal democracy throughout the world. This argument suffers from the single alternative fallacy. It is rooted in the Cold War perspective that the only alternative to communism is liberal democracy and that the demise of the first produces the universality of the second. Obviously, however, there are many forms of authoritarianism, nationalism, corporatism, and market communism (as in China) that are alive and well in today’s world. More significantly, there are all the religious alternatives that lie outside the world of secular ideologies. In the modern world, religion is a central, perhaps the central, force that motivates and mobilizes people. It is sheer hubris to think that because Soviet communism has collapsed, the West has won the world for all time and that Muslims, Chinese, Indians, and others are going to rush to embrace Western liberalism as the only alternative. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 177 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Post-Uprisings Western intervention aimed to replace pan-Arab ideology with neoliberal liberal democracy. — Youssef Cherif, Neo-pan-Arabism: a renewed contract of…, 54; Clinton reframed US post-Cold War power as democracy promotion through free trade — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 459; The Soviet collapse bred a Western belief that democracy would spread worldwide — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 514 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• The Soviet collapse bred a Western belief that democracy would spread worldwide #corroborates (1.00) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 514
• Liberal democracy’s post-Cold War triumph masks deep popular disaffection #complicates (0.82) — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 372
• The Cold War’s end did not make liberal democracy inevitable across civilizations #complicates (0.78) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 177