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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
Our Perspectives
Yemen: The Tribal Islamists
A new book, The Islamists Are Coming, is the first to survey the rise of Islamist groups in the wake of the Arab Spring. There are more than 50 Islamist parties across the region with millions of followers. Though they are often lumped together, the parties have diverse political ideologies, goals and constituencies. With chapters covering Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Syria, the Palestinian territories, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and Turkey, the book takes an in-depth look at the diversity of parties emerging across the region. Les Campbell, NDI senior associate and regional director for Middle East and North Africa programs, authored the books' chapter on Yemen.
May 6, 2012 | Read»
Ex-State Senator From Hendersonville Helps Uzbekistan Develop Leaders
Clark Plexico, a former three-term state senator from Henderson County during the 1990s, serves as NDI country director in Uzbekistan, where he works with government leaders and continues to focus on emerging leaders. During his recent trip to the U.S., Plexico brought along nine political leaders from Uzbekistan to visit Raleigh and Washington, D.C.
May 6, 2012 | Read»
News and Views
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Leap of Faith
Aung San Suu Kyi's swearing in this week as a member of Burma’s parliament is an important step forward, but the struggle to establish a real democracy is not over. Aung San Suu Kyi, who has never given in to bitterness, has urged the United States and others to encourage more change by lessening the country’s isolation. Last month, she and others in her party won 43 seats in the 500-member parliament, but the military still controls nearly all of the government.
May 2, 2012 | Read more»
Why Women Are a Foreign Policy Issue
"Please don't see us as victims, but look to us as the leaders we are," an Afghan woman activist said to Melanne Verveer, the U.S. State Department's ambassador at large for global women's issues. Verveer writes in this Foreign Policy op-ed that it is an absolute for economic prosperity and global peace and security that the world promotes the status of women.
"It's no coincidence that those countries that deny women basic human rights are some of the poorest and least stable. According to the World Economic Forum, countries where men and women are closer to enjoying equal rights are far more economically competitive than those where the gender gap has left women and girls with limited or no access to medical care, education, elected office, and the marketplace."
April 23, 2012 | 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.
