Book Talk: ‘Why Foreign-Imposed Regime Change Goes Wrong’
In his new book, Catastrophic Success: Why Foreign-Imposed Regime Change Goes Wrong, Alexander Downes compiles all instances of regime change around the world over the past two centuries to show that regime change increases the likelihood of civil war and violent leader removal in target states, while failing to reduce the probability of conflict between intervening states and their targets. As Downes demonstrates, when a state confronts an obstinate or dangerous adversary, the lure of toppling its government and establishing a friendly administration is strong. The historical record, however, indicates that foreign-imposed regime change is not, in the long term, cheap, easy, or consistently successful.
Join Professor Downes in a discussion of his book with Quincy Institute Research Fellow Annelle Sheline and Executive Vice President Trita Parsi, focusing on why U.S. policymakers persist in the belief that overt or covert regime change supports U.S. interests, when so frequently the opposite has proven true.
The discussion will take place on Thursday, January 13, 2 – 3pm ET.