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NDI

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.

News and Views

Commentary from experts on the directions and challenges of democracy assistance programs.

January 22, 2009

The Future of the Freedom Agenda?

American University Radio

Radio host Kojo Nnamdi and guests examine the state of democracy in regions across the world, and consider possible changes in U.S. policy on democracy assistance during the Obama presidency.

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January 15, 2009

Elections Aren't Democracy

The Washington Post

President Barack Obama, speaking to the Washington Post at a meeting before his inauguration.

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January 1, 2009

Democracy Assistance: Political vs. Developmental?

Journal of Democracy

Writing in the Journal of Democracy, Thomas Carothers outlines how democracy-support providers have begun to move away from one-size-fits-all strategies, and spotlights two distinct overall approaches to democracy assistance that have recently emerged.

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January 1, 2009

The Myth of the Autocratic Revival: Why Liberal Democracy Will Prevail

Foreign Affairs

In a Foreign Affairs article, Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry posit that neither China nor Russia offer sustainable alternatives to liberal democracy -- the pull of which, Deudney and Ikenberry argue, has become stronger than ever.

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January 1, 2009

Global Democracy Promotion: Seven Lessons for the New Administration

The Washington Quarterly

In the Washington Quarterly, Representative David Price of North Carolina argues that democracy promotion remains a central plank of U.S. foreign policy, and suggests ways of rethinking its theory and practice in the years ahead.

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October 21, 2008

The Future of Democracy Promotion

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

Roger Potocki, Director for Europe and Eurasia at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), spoke about the changing face of democracy promotion in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia during a visit to RFE/RL's Prague headquarters.

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October 20, 2008

U.S. Democracy Promotion During and After Bush

The Brookings Institution

The Brookings Institution hosted a panel discussion on whether the U.S. should continue to promote democracy around the world following the end of the Bush administration.

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October 13, 2008

The Fall of America, Inc.

Newsweek

Writing for Newsweek, Francis Fukuyama discusses the discrediting of American ideas, both in terms of the US economic model and its role as a promoter of liberal democracy.

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October 1, 2008

The Next President

Foreign Affairs

Richard Holbrooke, writing in Foreign Affairs, discusses the challenges and tasks facing the person who is elected president of the U.S. in 2008, including restoring the U.S. to its position in world leadership and the foreign policy challenges posed by Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

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September 29, 2008

Democracy: If You Want to Free Your Country, First Liberate Its Land

Newsweek

In an article in Newsweek, Fareed Zakaria presents an argument in favor of land reform as a first step in establishing democracy.

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