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Our Perspectives

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


09/20/2011	Anti-Government Protests In Yemen Turn Bloody NPR Morning Edition Dozens of anti-government protesters died in Yemen over the last two days after loyalist security forces opened fire on the main square in the capital Sanaa. Les Campbell, who runs the Middle East and North Africa programs at the National Democratic Institute, talks to Steve Inskeep about the political wrangling over the future of the country. Read More
09/01/2011	Libya: Challenges on Its Road Toward Democracy Voice of America Speaking with Voice of America, Barrie Freeman, director for North African programs, discusses the reasons she is optimistic at the prospects of Libya's transition. "A lot of work and preparation have already been done by the NTC in Benghazi," Freeman says, "but also by the formation of neighborhood councils in Benghazi, even in Tripoli when Gadhafi was fully in control. I think Libyans have been mobilizing for this for many months." Read More
09/01/2011	End Tribalism, Corruption, South Sudanese Say Voice of America Traci Cook, Southern and East Africa advisor at NDI, sits down with Voice of America to talk about the findings of the Institute's upcoming focus group research report. Cook discusses the type of nation Southern Sudanese are hoping to create — democratic, peaceful, with an emphasis on equality, fairness and responsive government. But above all, she says, the Southern Sudanese expressed the desire for unity, to be united as Southern Sudanese first, with tribal affiliations coming second. She also discusses the challenges the Southern Sudanese see facing their new country, especially insecurity, underdevelopment, corruption and tribalism. Read More
08/26/2011	Is The Bar Set Too High for Libya? Washington Post Leslie Campbell, NDI director for Middle East and North Africa programs, points to the positive steps the Libyan transitional council has taken toward democracy, security and inclusiveness and wonders why this revolution seems subject to a higher standard of success than the uprisings that preceded it. "We should not hold the Libyan revolution to a standard that can’t be met. A spontaneous uprising, tremendous personal sacrifice, democratic aspirations and the end of a brutal regime should be celebrated, not nitpicked. We have to resist the urge to judge progress every quarter or, worse, every news cycle, and accept that a new, democratic Libya will be many years in the making." Read More
08/24/2011	Côte d’Ivoire in August: Picking up the Pieces National Democratic Institute Christopher Fomunyoh, regional director for Central and West Africa programs, returns from a trip to Cote d'Ivoire in August and offers this analysis of the political situation. In November, violence broke out in the country when then-President Laurent Gbagbo refused to transfer power to the rightful winner of the election, Alassane Ouattara. Now, as the country begins to move forward from the crisis, Fomunyoh looks at a number of the remaining issues, including healing a traumatized society, the potential return of fighting and the revival of the rule of law. "Despite all of these challenges, the Ouattara government continues to make strides in rebuilding the economy and fostering national reconciliation. Ouattara reiterates these two themes in each of his public speeches, notably during his inaugural in May and more recently during the national day celebrations on Aug. 7. He continues to state his willingness to reach out to opposition leaders and their supporters, including members of Gbagbo’s party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI)." Read More
07/20/2011	South Sudan Celebrates Independence Africa Now! Citizens of South Sudan celebrated their long awaited independence day on July 9, 2011 after more than five decades of armed struggle with the North. The mood in Juba was optimistic despite the ongoing disputes between the North and the South and the tremendous challenges ahead for the people of South Sudan as they build a new nation. In an interview with Africa Now, NDI’s country director for the newly formed South Sudan, Richard Nuccio, speaks about the continuing conflict between the North and South over the oil-rich Abyei region that may drive the two sides back into war, as well as the Constitutional revision process currently underway that will seek to give democratic voice to the population. Read More
06/28/2011	Moving Forward in Afghanistan MacLean's In this article for MacLean's, Grant Kippen, a member NDI's international observer mission to Afghanistan's Parliamentary elections in September 2010, asserts that the recent ruling of the Special Elections Court that called for nearly 1/4 of the Parliament to be removed from office only serves to undermine the legitimate Constitutional authority of the Independent Election Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission. Kippen urges restraint in this crisis so that personal feelings over past events do not supersede the more important goal of rebuilding Afghanistan. Read More
06/28/2011	Assad deserves a swift trip to the Hague Financial Times As clashes between government forces and protesters continue to escalate in Syria, it is clear that sanctions and verbal condemnations from the international community will not halt Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's violent repression of peaceful demonstrators demanding democratic rule. In an op-ed in the Financial Times, NDI chairwoman Madeleine Albright urges the international community to take a stronger stand against Assad's actions. In particular, she urges the United Nations Security Council to direct the International Criminal Court to investigate President Assad on charges of crimes against humanity. "At present, the international criminal justice system is the best available way of confronting Syria. As a cornerstone of this system, the ICC has already shown the ability to influence official behaviour, both on the part of those who are subject to investigation or indictment, and on the part of other leaders who must decide whether to engage with or isolate leaders under scrutiny. A serious attempt now to direct the judicial panel’s attention to the situation in Syria could cause the government in Damascus to think with greater depth about its interests and, as a result, possibly change course, sparing many lives." Although each country's situation is different and must be treated differently, Albright believes the international community must establish a common principle that mass killings to suppress peaceful political dissent will not be tolerated anywhere. Read More
06/02/2011	Al-Qaida Claims It's Involved In Yemeni Battles NPR Morning Edition Les Campbell, director of Middle East and North Africa programs at NDI, speaks with Renee Montagne of NPR's Morning Edition about the political and security situation in Yemen. Campbell stresses that the different sides must work towards a political solution rather than a military one, to avoid a failed state. "The only way to rule Yemen is to find a way to draw these disparate pieces into one body, probably a parliament," he said. Read More
05/16/2011	Election Preparations in the Democratic Republic of Congo Barrie Freeman at CSIS In November 2011, the Democratic Republic of Congo is scheduled to hold multiparty elections for only the second time in five decades. The Reverend Daniel Mulunda-Nyanga, chairman of the DRC’s Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), faces a tight timeline, substantial logistical hurdles, and a crowded field of challengers to incumbent Joseph Kabila. At a recent event co-sponsored by NDI and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Kabila provided an update on the CENI’s progress in organizing the vote, and outline the remaining challenges facing the commission in the months to come. Barrie Freeman, NDI’s deputy regional director for Central and West Africa, also spoke at the event. “Unlike the DRC’s transition elections of 2006, the 2011 electoral process is firmly in the hands of Congolese themselves,” Freeman said. “The role of the international community – and in particular the UN – is much lighter now, as these elections are expected to consolidate gains made during the past five years and further the DRC along the democratic path of its own choosing. If the 2006 elections marked the DRC’s break from the past, the 2011 elections are meant to show the way forward.” Read More