As noted in the Introduction, the idea that liberalization is a remedy for violent conflict is not new; in fact, it was one of the central principles of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy at the end of World War I. Wilson viewed the American model of market democracy as the apogee of political development, and believed that the spread of this model would promote peace in both domestic and international affairs. “Democracy,” he proclaimed, “is unquestionably the most wholesome and livable form of government the world has yet tried. It supplies as no other system could the frank and universal criticism, the free play of individual thought, the open conduct of public affairs, the spirit … of community and cooperation, which make governments just and public spirited.”Governments that rest “not upon the armed strength of the governors, but upon the free consent of the governed,” he added, “seldom coerce their subjects” and use force only as a “last … resort.”

When Wilson traveled to France for the Versailles peace conference, he envisaged the creation of a world order based on the democratic self-determination of peoples, constitutional protections of minority rights, free trade and commerce, the opening up of diplomacy to public scrutiny, and the creation of a League of Nations to keep the peace.