While some may disagree with the policies or ideology of certain foreign governments, those differences should not justify regime change. Instead, it is important to understand why covert regime change efforts typically fail.
A key reason is that foreign polities have their own priorities, and it is difficult to change those priorities by overthrowing a government. Another reason is that regime change often leads to chaos and civil war. And finally, there is a risk of getting inadvertently involved in nation-building projects, which can hamstring U.S. goals in the long run.
Some in the policy community argue that regime change is a powerful tool to achieve U.S. objectives, especially in a time of rising international tensions. Those arguments are flawed and miss the mark, as past experiences have demonstrated. A recent panel at the Cato Institute argued that regime change is a “dangerous strategy for advancing American interests.”
This is because overthrowing a foreign government usually fails to meet the objective that the proponents claim. In most cases, these goals revolve around spreading democracy or advancing economic interests. It also usually involves trying to install a more friendly leadership. However, these efforts are often doomed to failure because they depend on the support of and power over a target country’s citizens. In addition, a foreign regime can easily revert to illegitimate behavior once it loses popular support. And forcibly overthrowing a foreign regime violates the fundamental principle of Westphalian sovereignty.