The Case for Democracy

Natan Sharansky's argument, drawn from his experience in Soviet gulags, that the desire for freedom is universal and that the free world's strategic interests and moral commitments align in promoting democracy. Introduces the 'town square test': if a person cannot speak their mind in a public square without fear of arrest, they live in a fear society. The book became a touchstone of the George W. Bush administration's democracy promotion doctrine.

Provides a moral and strategic framework for democracy promotion grounded in firsthand experience of totalitarian oppression. The fear society vs. free society distinction and the town square test gave policymakers a simple, powerful conceptual tool. Influenced the intellectual foundations of Bush's second inaugural address and the broader neoconservative foreign policy project.