Yet as the century begins, we are not complacent. And we are concerned that in many countries, the arrival of electoral democracy has been accompanied by economic expectations that are, as yet, unfulfilled. We can do much to meet this challenge by helping more people in more countries become full participants in the global economy. Economic anxieties often reveal other problems. This is nonsense.
Democratic elections provide no guarantee of honest government.
But democratic institutions provide the tools by which, over time, the habits of corruption can be curbed and its practitioners exposed. Of course, free and fair elections are but one necessary part of the democratic picture. Such institutions do not arise overnight. They require not only the seeds of democratic ideals, but also the soil of democratic culture in which those seeds may take root and grow. So we are working within global and regional institutions to strengthen democracy worldwide.