Imagine if the United States, in its war against Hitler, had said to Stalin: we don't want your support until you make your country democratic.

My theory is that security - also against terror - can only be accomplished through global democratization.

My optimism is not based primarily on the successful march of democracy in recent times but rather is based on the experience of having lived in a fear society and studied the mechanics of tyranny that sustain such a society.

Non-democratic regimes always need to mobilize their people against external enemies in order to maintain internal stability.

A simple way to determine whether the right to dissent in a particular society is being upheld is to apply the town square test: Can a person walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm? If he can, then that person is living in a free society. If not, it's a fear society.

Imagine if the United States, in its war against Hitler, had said to Stalin: we don't want your support until you make your country democratic.

To understand why dictators have a problem with making peace - or at least a genuine peace - the link between the nature of a regime and its external behavior must be understood.