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Over the last several decades, two seemingly contradictory trends have emerged: a rise in democracy assistance and a decline in democracy. What explains this disconnect? Although existing work provides some insight about democracy promotion’s mixed effects, more work is needed to understand the impact of additional, often understudied forms of assistance. I explore this puzzle on a panel of 136 nations from 1981-2015 by assessing how two types of democracy promotion – democracy promoting international nongovernmental organizations (DINGOs) and democracy aid – impact governance.

Conservative political parties occupy a precarious position in liberal democracies. On the one hand, economic elites who tend to be protective of the status quo are a core constituency of most conservative parties. On the other hand, conservative parties must compete in democratic elections where majorities matter.