The contested origins of US democracy promotion: the national endowment for democracy and its congressional critics

Although increasingly disputed, democracy promotion has been a core part of a bipartisan US foreign policy consensus for the majority of the post-Cold War era. The establishment of the semi-private, government-funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in 1983 represented a turning point in this development. 
This article offers the first comprehensive, archival-based study of the NED’s congressional critics and their arguments and motivations. It finds that opposition to the NED consisted of an unlikely and ideologically diverse alliance between conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats, who took issue with its organizational structure and strategic objectives. 
 
At a time when the incoming Biden administration has proclaimed its intent to convene a global “Summit for Democracy,” this article offers new insights into the contested origins of U.S. democracy promotion.