Michael Ignatieff Quotes

The Americans' position is clear: we promote democracy.

Only idiots would believe that the U.S. is a democratic country seeking democracy in other countries

There are a lot of countries, oil-producing countries, that aren't very democratic, but supported by the United States. That's odd.

Bush will keep up that policy that gives the United State the role of promoting freedom in the world.

The stakes are very high for us in Haiti. We have many important interests there. Perhaps the most important to me is our interest in the promotion of democracy in this hemisphere.

Republicans are pushing legislation forward that will improve the effectiveness of and bring more accountability to U.S. foreign assistance around the world and bring democracy even further into the light.

You know, Arabs are critical of United States foreign policy, but they also associate the U.S. with democratic principles and opportunity.

America's support for human rights and democracy is our noblest export to the world.

Obama is cutting back on the idea that we're going to have Jeffersonian democracy in Pakistan or anywhere else.

First of all, the world criticizes American foreign policy because Americans criticize American foreign policy. We shouldn't be surprised about that. Criticizing government is a God-given right - at least in democracies.

Even though the Bush campaign ad tells you that Afghanistan is a new democracy at the Olympics because of Bush's efforts, Afghanistan hasn't actually had an election.

I like politics. I like traveling in the United States.

Reagan never cottoned to dictators. He was pure in this notion in a true belief that democracy was the best solution in the world because it spoke to people's hopes and dreams and aspirations, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of speech.

While we use American power to fight hard for democracy against extremism on both left and right, our critics seem suspicious of any assertion of United States power or influence against any government or group that claims to be on the left.

It does not accord with the policy of the United States to acknowledge any monarchial Government erected on the ruins of any republican Government in America ...

I don't think it's the job of the United States to build democracies from whole cloth. That's Wilsonianism to me of the most crazy kind.

The United State can no longer allow its Arab allies to ward off democratic reform.

The United States is pursuing a series of goals (spreading democracy, asserting its hegemony, securing oil supplies) that are ultimately incompatible.

For the last fifty years we've been supporting right-wing governments, and that is a puzzlement to me...I don't understand what there is in the American character... that almost automatically, even when we have a liberal President, we support fascist dictatorships or are tolerant towards them.

The paradox of American policy in the Middle East — promoting democracy on the assumption it will bring countries closer to the West — is that almost everywhere there are free elections, the American-backed side tends to lose.

American interests dictate that we teach other peoples to govern themselves.

Promoting democracy is one goal of U. S. foreign policy dating back at least 100 years. But it has always been one goal of many, often negated and outweighed by other competing interests.

No idea holds greater sway in the minds of educated Americans that the belief that it is possible to democratize governments anytime and anywhere under any circumstances .

Fiji can make a similar report on the US on all those issues. Our report would be far worse than the US state department's report on Fiji.

America would never consent to become entangled in European diplomacy…