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.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

The BA in International Studies Program & The World Affairs Council of New Orleans & Center Austria present:

Arab Spring Revisited: Jordan, Libya, Yemen, & Syria 2 Years After

Speakers:

Les Campbell, NDI regional director for Middle East and North Africa programs

In Foreign Policy, James Traub argues that in Africa, where over the past decade many countries have experienced an economic boom, what distinguishes the successes from the failures is good governance.

While Egypt faces the possibility of economic collapse, the Obama administration and other Western governments are also worried about proposed laws that would stifle democratic progress by regulating Egypt's nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), “the building blocks of democracy” and banning foreign NGOs from the country. The Washington Post editorial board argues that independent Egyptian human rights groups, legal aid societies, women’s groups and others “are essential to ensuring that a free society takes root.”

In mid-March, Yemen began its National Dialogue, bringing together political and civil society leaders from diverse political backgrounds to discuss the direction the country will take. As the process gets underway, new public opinion research shows that most Yemenis believe the country is headed in the right direction, though a slim majority in the south disagrees. The conclusions are based on a poll, conducted Jan. 26-Feb. 6, that consisted of 1,486 face-to-face interviews throughout the country.

The Atlantic | Link to story  »

In the new film NO, the rule of Augusto Pinochet ends after Chile's voters get inspired by a peppy ad campaign designed by a skateboarding, politically agnostic ad executive named Rene, played by Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

It has been over a week since Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt, who led the country in the 1980s, went on trial in Guatemala facing charges of genocide. In a New York Times op-ed, Anita Isaacs argues that the trial gives Guatemala a chance to prove to the world that it has made substantial democratic process, can uphold the rule of law and give indigenous Mayans the same protections, rights and freedoms as the rest of its citizens. Though Mayans have been able to testify, the court proceedings have not allowed them to tell their whole story.

TIRANA – While Albania has significantly improved its electoral framework, the success of June’s parliamentary polls will depend on how well political polarization and manipulation of the process are held in check, according to the findings of a National Democratic Institute (NDI) pre-election assessment mission released here today.