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In recent weeks political developments in the Middle East and North Africa have dominated headlines and airwaves. NDI staff and board members have offered their analysis of the situation to both online and broadcast outlets from the PBS NewsHour to ForeignPolicy.com to CNN. Here are some highlights of the coverage.
US Training Quietly Nurtured Young Arab Democrats
In this story by the Associated Press, Les Campbell, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, discusses NDI's assistance to Egyptian civil society partners since 2005, particular the effect of citizen election observers in the country.
"It had the effect of showing the emperor had no clothes," Campbell said. "Egyptians could make a difference. They could change things."
March 13, 2011 | Read»
Revolution Is Easy; Democracy Is Difficult
NDI President Kenneth Wollack and Chairman Madeleine Albright discuss the difficulty of transitioning to democracy after a revolution in the International Herald Tribune.
"It’s impossible to have one model," said Wollack, referring to the difficulty of deciding how a new government will be structured. "Chile is different than the Philippines, which is different than Indonesia."
"There’s no such thing as instant democracy," said Albright, emphasizing that the process will take a long time.
Feb. 27, 2011 | Read»
Egypt Starts Overhauling Constitution
As Egypt starts to draft constitutional amendments, NDI director for the Middle East and North Africa, Les Campbell, comments on potential assistance from the U.S. in the process.
"This really is not the constitutional-amendment phase at the moment. When they get to the point of actually revising election systems, that may be a different story and may require more outside help," Campbell said.
Feb. 17, 2011 | Read»
U.S. Had Year of Warnings Over Egypt
Jay Solomon discusses how the Obama administration, in an effort not to alienate Mubarak, chose to pursue its democracy promotion agenda in Egypt through private talks rather than tough public rhetoric, despite warnings from the Egypt Working Group that the country was headed toward transition.
While this approach gained the cooperation of Cairo in the Arab-Israeli peace talks, Solomon suggests the administration missed critical warning signs of impending unrest. In the article, NDI's director for Middle East and North Africa programs, Les Campbell, comments on the crackdown on election monitoring in the lead up to the 2009 elections.
Feb. 16, 2011 | Read»
Bush program helped lay the groundwork in Egypt
In the Boston Globe, NDI director for the Middle East, Leslie Campbell, comments on the Bush administration's support for election monitors in Egypt.
Feb. 15, 2011 | Read»
The Next Steps in Egypt
In the Canadian newspaper Maclean's, NDI director for the Middle East and North Africa, Les Campbell, discusses Egyptian political parties, the pro-democracy movement, and lessons from other democratic transitions.
"The Egyptian people took this upon themselves," he said. "We were glued to our TVs and saw this inspirational turn of events. But for people who have been around for a long time, and seen other transitions, there are a number of lessons, whether it’s from Poland, Chile or Indonesia."
Feb. 15, 2011 | Read»
The Return of Democracy Promotion
In the New York Times' Sunday "Week in Review" section Peter Baker writes about President George W. Bush's democracy promotion agenda and where the Obama administration has continued and departed from it. In the article, NDI President Kenneth Wollack commented on America's role in supporting democracy around the globe.
"The stirring events in Egypt and Tunisia should reinforce what has always been a bipartisan ambition because they are vivid reminders of universal democratic aspirations and America’s role in supporting those aspirations," Wollack said.
Feb. 14, 2011 | Read»
