The Ethics of Forcible Democratization

Recent wars have led many to believe that the promotion of democracy cannot justify foreign intervention, but this is rash. A government\u27s right to non-intervention should hinge on whether it adequately: 1) protects its subjects\u27 human rights and: 2) represents their collective political will. I argue that when and where the international legal system\u27s ability to enforce human rights matures and the social conditions for better representation emerge, the standards for adequate protection and representation should rise. Since democracy significantly augments both functions of government, eventually the right to non-intervention should depend on maintaining democratic institutions. Failure to do so will at that time provide a: defeasible) justification for pro-democratic intervention, up to an including the use of armed force