The logic of being ineffective: Rethinking the domestic side of democracy promotion

While it is common sense that in democracies foreign policy is also shaped by domestic political considerations, this has received scant attention in the study of democracy promotion. But, as this paper argues, attention to the interplay and competing logics of international and domestic aspects is crucial to explain contemporary democracy promotion - and particularly, the astonishing degree to which democracy promotion initiatives are pursued in spite of failure to achieve their declared goals. Empirical evidence will be drawn from the Cuban case, comparing the impact of domestic political logics on democracy promotion initiatives from the U.S., the EU, and Germany.