The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Basics for Haiti

In the New York Times, the editorial board stresses the two areas that require urgent attention from the Haitian government and its main international backers: keeping women and children safe and planning elections. "Haiti needs to start working right now to update electoral records, set voting procedures for displaced people, issue identity cards for the many Haitians who have lost all of their documents, and educate voters on where to vote."

Dangerous Games

This editorial in the New York Times looks at the aftermath of the elections in Iraq, and urges Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to accept the results. By continuing to protest the election results, al-Maliki is putting Iraq's ability to govern itself effectively in jeopardy, with U.S. troops set to pull out of the country in August.

"This process has already dragged on too long. Iraq has a lot of difficult issues to resolve. There is still no oil law. No plan for how to decide the future of the contested city of Kirkuk. It needs a new government that all Iraqis consider legitimate. If Mr. Maliki or any other politician allows their ambition to irreparably taint this election, the whole country will pay the price."

Our Challenge: Keeping the Internet Open

David Drummond, chief legal officer of Google Inc. and senior vice president of corporate development, describes Google's reaction to governments that ask the company to censor Internet content. Drummond also writes about the company's view of the Internet as an unrestricted place for exchanging information, and Google's our-part plan to help encourage access to online information.

"The inherently global, borderless nature of the Internet means that policies created to govern content in a few countries can affect all of us. We believe that more information generally means more choice, more freedom and ultimately more power for the individual."

The Case for Spreading Press Freedom Around the World

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, David Ignatius explores issues of press freedom, Internet censorship and open access to information around the world.

"Yet the paradox is that efforts to control information in the Internet age are inherently self-defeating. They require ever more elaborate mechanisms of censorship, which have the effect of isolating a country from the global economy. That may work for North Korea, where people have been cut off so long they don't know what the world looks like. But it won't fly with Iranians or Chinese who like being connected and want more interaction, not less."