American democracy and democracy promotion

As America inaugurates its 43rd President it enters a period of reflection. The danger is that an emphasis on voting procedure will silence a long-sta nding and ultimately more si,significant criticism of American democracy an d its policy of democracy promotion. The separation of economics from polit ics and the promotion of so-called 'market democracy' does a disservice to the wider democratic project and is potentially self-defeating. This articl e reviews three books to argue that America's declining international reput ation can be traced to its own democratic shortcomings. It explores the pos sibility of a popular working-class movement to address these failings and examines the implication this may have on the Liberal international order.