Context

The Muabet project came into being from a concern with the pragmatics and the ethics of international intervention in the former Yugoslavia. Within that broad field, it focuses in particular on the role of the United States in what has been variously described as democracy promotion or nation-building, and on the impact of externally-driven efforts to positively influence the development of civil society at a “grass-roots” level.  In the course of time since 2000, when we began our work, these terms and concepts have gained new currency, especially in the light of developments in United States policy. In this section of the site, we lay out the background to the debate over democracy promotion via civic empowerment and community participation.