Since the Institute conducted its first program in Sub-Saharan Africa in the mid-1980s, the majority of African nations with closed political systems have adopted principles of democratic governance. In many of the countries still governed by authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes, political space has opened. But Africa remains a continent of stark political and socio-economic contrasts and many longstanding challenges, including debt, ethnic divisions, environmental disasters, poverty, and HIV/AIDS.
For more than 20 years NDI has assisted democrats and reformers across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as they work to build stronger institutions that can better represent citizens and promote greater accountability and transparency. Since opening its first office in Jerusalem in 1993 to provide support to Palestinians as they prepared for elections, the Institute has responded to requests from civic activists, parliaments, local governments and political parties throughout the region.
Despite these advances, many Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries are struggling to overcome a new generation of challenges to democracy. Public support for democracy, especially for core institutions like parties and legislatures, has stagnated or fallen as citizens clamor for an end to poverty, inequality, and violence. Corruption and impunity from the law have left weak democracies in the region vulnerable to destabilization by criminal gangs and drug traffickers and a hollowing out from within by populists undercutting fundamental democratic checks and balances.
