Fifteen years ago, I attended a gathering in Gdansk, Poland, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity movement. Lech Walesa, the former labor leader turned Polish president, presided. Among the invited guests were prominent dissidents from China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, and Zimbabwe. Walesa and other Eastern European leaders spoke about how after years of struggle, change came more suddenly than anyone expected. The responsibilities of governance overwhelmed many opposition movements. With few exceptions, those who struggled for freedom stumbled, and reactionary forces made a comeback. Only with the persistence of elections did real democrats succeed.

Unfortunately, the U.S. foreign policy apparatus appears not to have learned the lesson. The State Department and National Security Council remain more comfortable managing the status quo than preparing for, let alone affecting, change. Thirty years ago, this was evident when President George H.W. Bush delivered his “Chicken Kiev” speech, reputedly written by then-National Security Council aide Condoleezza Rice. Rather than recognize the promise of the Soviet Union’s fall, he essentially sought to maintain the status quo at the expense of Ukrainian freedom.