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The transition to democratic government is slow and often difficult in the Middle East and North Africa, yet unmistakable changes have occurred. Political liberalization in several countries has created space for contested elections to be held, for political parties and citizens’ groups to organize, for legislatures to assert their power and for the media to speak more freely.
Democratic norms and freedoms are increasingly part of public demands, and actions by governments are measured both at home and abroad by how they stack up against these norms. Despite some regimes rethinking reform agendas and earlier moves to political openness, demand for democracy and democracy assistance remains strong. There is now a growing need to demonstrate the practical relevance of democratic governance to the lives of citizens.
Regional Programming
On a regional level, NDI recognizes that a key element in fostering momentum for change throughout the region is building networks among likeminded reformers and providing opportunities for them to exchange experiences and build support structures. Whether representatives of domestic monitoring groups from countries around the region coming together to witness the operations of Moroccan civic organizations or Saudi women demanding more rights after learning about the experience of Kuwaiti women gaining the right to vote, such opportunities for sharing build solidarity and better equip reformers with resources and experiences for the challenges they face. Given great disparities in wealth, education and colonial experiences, cross-regional collaborations and opportunities to meet enable regional partners to address the needs of local democrats within the existing political context.
Partners in Participation
Over the past six years, NDI has conducted several women’s campaign training schools in the MENA region through the Partners in Participation initiative conducted in partnership with the International Republican Institute (IRI). Partners in Participation has brought together women from the region in five multi-day events in Qatar, Jordan, Tunisia, Kuwait and Morocco. In each of these training schools, women activists developed skills for waging professional and credible campaigns and formed new relationships with their colleagues from other countries in the region. International experts, including parliamentarians and practitioners from the region and around the world also attended the training schools to provide examples of their experiences to the political aspirants.
Congress of Democrats from the Islamic World
In April 2004, NDI collaborated with a number of organizations to bring reform-minded political leaders from 17 predominantly Muslim countries to Istanbul, Turkey to share their experiences and develop a Platform for Democratic Governance in the Islamic World. The Congress of Democrats from the Islamic World marked the first political convention of its nature, gathering government officials, parliamentarians, and political leaders to encourage democratic principles of governance in their countries by holding multi-party elections, establishing independent legislative bodies, assuring universal suffrage, and promoting an active civil society.
Subsequently, NDI has organized follow-up programs that continue to encourage regional and global collaboration among political leaders striving to promote meaningful reform and more open political processes. A conference entitled Beyond Elections: Islam and Political Parties and held in Indonesia in 2005 provided an opportunity for Congress participants to share lessons and discuss related issues with South Asian colleagues. At the Sixth Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy in 2006, NDI sponsored workshop and plenary sessions that continued to explore the framework for an inclusive and representative process in Muslim countries that fulfills international standards for democratic practices. Most recently, in July 2008, NDI convened a gathering of 20 senior political party leaders from the Middle East, Europe and North America to discuss strategies for including members more in party decision making and developing more responsive policy platforms on economic and social issues that address citizens’ concerns.
Independent Research Centers
Another resource that NDI has utilized is the development of independent focus group centers. To date, NDI has helped establish centers in Morocco, Lebanon, and Jordan to create links between policy-makers and the public. These centers assist a broad range of political actors, including government officials, political parties, civil society organizations, and the international community, to hear citizens’ concerns firsthand and devise ways of making them more central to the policy making process. NDI established the first of these focus group centers, the Rabat-based People’s Mirror, in 2003. Over the past four years, the People’s Mirror has hosted over 300 focus groups on more than 30 topics ranging from political party messages to public perceptions of the Moroccan judiciary and attitudes on freedom of expression.
Resource Development
NDI’s Arabic Publications Center in Lebanon serves as a critical resource of Arabic-language training guides and materials for NDI’s offices and partners promoting democratic practices and institutions in the MENA region. By centralizing the translation and distribution of both widely-used manuals and activity-specific documents, the Institute ensures that high-quality Arabic-language documents are readily available on demand. To date, the Center has published and distributed over 40,000 manuals and other democracy-related materials to local partners and NDI offices in the region.
Throughout the region, NDI has also integrated new technologies into its programs, such as the use of cellular technology in parallel vote tabulations (PVT) in Bahrain and the mapping of voting stations with Geographic Information System (GIS) in the West Bank and Gaza, now used by the Palestinian Election Commission. NDI has also help lead the introduction of Aswat, a web-based information portal to promote dialogue on politics and reform across the Arabic-speaking world. Designed in partnership with several international and Middle Eastern technology firms and a regional Advisory Board of leading reformers and activists, this Arabic website features open forums, web-blogs featuring political commentary and analysis and space for the posting of documents and multimedia components. The site also includes a resource library with hundreds of Arabic language materials on elections, politics, campaigning and other related topics.
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