The Democracy Advantage provides an empirically-grounded analysis of the consistently positive development track record of poor countries with democratic governments versus those with more oppressive political systems. Building on the democratic peace literature, Halperin, Siegle, and Weinstein connect the dots of how democracy and development contribute to lower levels of intrastate conflict and popular support for extremist ideologies. This analysis provides a foundation for a series of policy recommendations for how democracy can become a more central feature of US and international engagement in the developing world. The Democracy Advantage is an evenly argued liberal internationalist justification for making democracy a central feature of US foreign policy.

'This valuable and timely volume obliterates the myth beloved of dictators that democracy is somehow the enemy of development rather than an essential ally. Here is a treasury of evidence that freedom is not only right - it works.' - Madeline Albright, former US Secretary of State For decades, policies pursued by the US and other industrialized nations towards the developing world have been based on a dirty little secret among policy experts: democracy and development don't mix. Turning this long-held view on its head, The Democracy Advantage makes a bold case that they do. In this timely, penetrating analysis, the authors of this path-breaking book explode the conventional wisdom that democratic reforms are destabilizing and that the U.S. must first promote development - often relying on authoritarian regimes - in order to create a middle class that will support democracy.