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WVU Prof: US behind in protecting workers’ life balance

Book shows futility of imposing democracy

A West Virginia University professor has just published After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy, in which he contends post-war reconstruction in Iraq is doomed because of bureaucratic mistakes.

As the war in Iraq grinds on and hope for democracy there seems illusionary, scholars are taking another look at why and how democracy grows in one place and not another. In his book, Christopher Coyne, assistant professor at the College of Business and Economics, applies an economic mind set to a topic traditionally tackled by historians, policymakers, and political scientists.

Dr. Coyne will sign copies of his book at University Town Center Barnes and Noble Friday, Dec. 7, from 6-8 p.m. Dr. Chris Coyne's book -- After War

“Historically, the United States has attempted to generate change in foreign countries by exporting liberal democratic institutions through military occupation and reconstruction,” Coyne said. “Despite these efforts, the record of U.S.-led reconstructions has been mixed at best. For every West Germany or Japan, there is a Cuba, Haiti, Somalia, or Vietnam, and more recently, Afghanistan and Iraq.”

Are efforts to export democracy by military intervention doomed to fail? They are, Coyne said, if there are no economic incentives to cause citizens to prefer a liberal democratic order more than any available alternatives.

Economics focuses on how incentives influence human action. From an economic standpoint, a successful reconstruction effort requires finding and establishing a set of incentives. Coyne provides insight into why occupiers have failed in their efforts to create the incentives that underpin liberal democracy.

Coyne argues that the ability of foreign occupiers to create incentives for the local population is limited by several constraints. “While the characteristics of liberal democracy—the protection of civil, political and property rights, as well as the rule of law—would seem to have universal appeal, we know very little about how to foster them,” Coyne said.

The book illustrates this problem, with examples from past and current reconstruction efforts.

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