News release: “Stepping into the debate over whether democracy stops terrorism, a RAND Corporation study issued today finds that democratic political reforms can marginalize extremists and undermine support for political violence, but cosmetic reforms and backtracking on democratization can exacerbate the risk of terrorism. The belief that promoting democracy reduces terrorism has played a significant role in recent U.S. foreign policy. Yet little evidence has shown that democracy has either a positive or negative effect on terrorism. The RAND report breaks new ground by assessing reform efforts — and their implications for terrorism — in six key Arab states.”