Democracy by Force: The Conditions, Challenges, and Consequences of Foreign-Imposed Democratization

Foreign Imposed Democratization (FID) refers to the process of using military force or other means of intervention to overthrow a non-democratic regime and establish a democratic system in another country. This paper focuses specifically on U.S. instances of foreign-imposed democratization, analyzing the conditions and commitments necessary for its success. My research conducts a comprehensive analysis of three instances of the U.S.-led foreign imposed democratization, specifically looking into the various conditions, contexts, and issues involved in determining its success or failure. For my research, I take a qualitative approach, utilizing a comprehensive case study analysis for my three countries of interest, which include Germany, Liberia, and Afghanistan. Ultimately, this paper finds that when the explicit goal of military intervention is implementing democratic reforms, its success is directly correlated to the level of wealth within a country, as well as the strength, policies, and contexts behind the military intervention itself, with ethnic homogeneity having little significance in determining whether the targeted state successfully democratized.