Support for democracy has been a priority of U.S. foreign policy since the earliest days of the republic and its advantages over other forms of government have come to be accepted globally. But there are many manifestations of democratic governance – how it is achieved and how it delivers for its citizens – that are the subject of continuing debate. To help illuminate this debate, NDI has collected commentary from its own experts and others along with some of the key documents upon which democracy programs are based.
Our Perspectives
Commentary from NDI Board members and staff on democracy promotion generally and on specific NDI programs. | Read more »
News and Views
Commentary from experts on the directions and challenges of democracy promotion programs. | Read more »
Key Documents
A library of the basic documents upon which democracy programs are based. | Read more »
New Additions
NDI’s Chris Fomunyoh Discusses Cote d'Ivoire on the PBS NewsHour
Appearing on the PBS NewsHour, Chris Fomunyoh, NDI’s senior associate and regional director for Central and West Africa, emphasized the importance of a quick resolution to the stalemate in Cote d'Ivoire, or the Ivory Coast. “We must remember that over five million Ivorians participated in this electoral process,” Fomunyoh said. “And they had hoped, for the most part, that these elections would be the culmination of all of the peace agreements that have been negotiated over the years that have postponed the elections, which ordinarily would have been conducted in 2005.
“And so here we are, a month after the elections, all of this fighting and people still waiting to get an outcome that can give them a sense that Ivory Coast is in the process of healing and national reconciliation.”
Dec. 29, 2010 | Watch »
Our Perspectives
Party-building in the Middle East
Writing in the International Journal, Leslie Campbell, senior associate and regional director for the Middle East and North Africa examines four case studies of ways that citizens in the Middle East have gotten more involved in strengthening local democracies. From party-building in Yemen and the Palestinian territories to expanding women's participation in Morocco and monitoring elections in Egypt, Campbell demonstrates that "the citizens of the Arab world prefer to be able to choose their leaders, believe that democracy is the best way to order their societies, and demonstrate a desire to participate in the governance of their communities and nations."
Winter 2010 | Read»
Read an interview with Worden in Voice of America»
News and Views
Lukashenko the Loser
In the International Herald Tribune the foreign ministers of Sweden, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany issue a strong condemnation of the vote and the violence that followed in Belarus.
“There can be no business-as-usual between the European Union and Belarus' president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, after what has happened since the presidential election in Belarus last Sunday.” The authors go on to urge other European Union leaders to engage with democrats in Belarus and to uphold democracy and human rights within the country.
Dec. 23, 2010 | Read more»
African Leaders Take a Stand in the Ivory Coast
This Washington Post editorial makes the case that democracy in Côte d'Ivoire is best served by respecting election results and not by encouraging a "unity government" as has been the case in Zimbabwe and Kenya.
“The positive side of this worrisome situation is that African leaders have clearly sided against the disrupter of democracy. Last week the African Union called on Mr. Gbagbo to accept the election results and suspended the Ivory Coast until 'the democratically elected president effectively assumes state power.'”
Dec. 15, 2010 | Read more»
Pictured above: NDI President Kenneth Wollack (center), with Lorne Craner (left), the president of the International Republican Institute, and Ambassador Robert Neumann at a panel discussion.
