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In Freedom Betrayed, Michael Ledeen weaves together key moments in the fall of communism with the skill of a born storyteller. His insider's knowledge of the interplay of complex personalities and Byzantine strategies makes a compelling narrative - a narrative enlivened by his wit and flair for the dramatic.
He observes that just when democracy seemed everywhere triumphant - with the fall of antidemocratic regimes in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa - our leaders failed those fledgling democracies, first by misunderstanding the monumental achievement of that triumph and second by not providing the political, legal, and entrepreneurial know-how and support the new democrats so desperately needed.

This is the Age of the Second Democratic Revolution. Inspired by the values of the American Revolution, supported and advanced by American military power and a remarkable generation of democratic leaders, the revolution has swept the world. Antidemocratic regimes have fallen in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Parliaments from the Italian Chamber of Deputies to the American Congress have been radically transformed. The cult of the state -- the belief that government is better suited than individuals or spontaneous, temporary organizations to solve mankind's basic problems -- came under global assault, and in a surprising number of countries the powers of once-oppressive central governments were greatly reduced. Tyranny has been routed on every continent, and hopeful democrats, many of them survivors of frightful repression, torture, and mass murder, have proclaimed the people's right to choose their own government and live under a system of law rather than arbitrary diktat. When the Soviet Empire collapsed at the beginning of this decade, it seemed that we might soon see democracy everywhere triumphant and that our children could live in a world governed by our highest ideals.
Yet just at that moment our values had swept the world, our leaders betrayed the Democratic Revolution, abandoned our historic mission, and stood by as the forces of tyranny reestablished much of their evil sway, The enemies of democracy -- seemingly overthrown just a few years ago -- are becoming stronger in much of the former Soviet Empire, and in some cases the very same men and women who inflicted the Communist terror are no returning to power, wrapped in a newfound mantle of democratic respectability. Having won the cold war, we are in danger of seein gour historic victory overwhelmed by a new generation of tyrants.
In this call to embrace the worldwide democratic revolution, this book argues that global democracy should be the centerpiece of U.S. strategy. - Michael Ledeen, 1st January 1996

Michael Ledeen

Michael Arthur Ledeen (born Los Angeles, California, August 1, 1941) is an American neoconservative specialist on foreign policy. His research areas have included state sponsors of terrorism, Iran, the Middle East, Europe (Italy), U.S.-China relations, intelligence, and Africa (Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). He is a former consultant to the United States National Security Council, the United States Department of State, and the United States Department of Defense. He has also served as a special adviser to the United States Secretary of State. He held the Freedom Scholar chair at the American Enterprise Institute where he was a scholar for twenty years and now holds the similarly named chair at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is a contributing editor to National Review, contributes to the Wall Street Journal, and regularly appears on Fox News and on a variety of radio talk shows.

In 1974, Michael Ledeen moved to Rome where he studied the history of Italian Fascism. In 1977, he went to Washington to join the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) (then affiliated with Georgetown University). He continues to visit Italy frequently.

In 1980, Ledeen worked for the Italian military intelligence service as a "risk assessment" consultant. In 1981, Michael Ledeen then became Special Adviser to secretary of state Alexander Haig.