Profiles of Key Democracy and Good Governance NGOs/Agencies
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Window on the World
Profiles of Key Democracy and Good Governance NGOs/Agencies In this edition of Window on theWorld, we provide a cross-sectional summary of organizations working on democracy. The list is by no means comprehensive, rather it aims to be a representative sampling that illustrates the mosaic of democracy-promoting entities.
Introduction Often referred to as an infrastructure or a‘democracy bureaucracy’, the worldwide network of democracy promotion and good governance non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations (IOs), and bilateral agencies is immense and multifaceted. Although they share a general mission of promoting democracy, each operates with varying goals and foci ^ and somewhat different definitions of democracy. Nevertheless, they share many common ends: free and fair elections, a responsive and participatory citizenry, rule of law, and transparent institutions.
National Endowment for Democracy (NED) www.ned.org The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a US-based, congressionally funded, private organization primarily engaged in the writing and proffering of grants to a wide variety of pro-democracy agencies, NGOs, and programmes worldwide. NED was founded in 1983, a year after President Ronald Reagan articulated his ‘campaign for democracy’ in a speech delivered to the British Parliament. Although sharing many common precepts regarding democratic government and the advantages of democratic transition, the NED and the US government work autonomously of one another in terms of programmes and policy implementation. NED is primarily involved in‘assisting democrats’across a wide range of political landscapes from closed societies to consolidating democracies. Funding through NED goes most notably to the core institutes, namely, the International Republican Institute (IRI), National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), and the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS). In addition to the core institutes, NED provides aid money and expertise to other democracy-promoting organizations and smaller indigenous groups to encourage local, culturally endogenous democracy. The substantive contribution of NED to the larger field of research, aid, and dialogue in the past 23 years is significant. Its main research arm, the International Forum for Development (2007) 50(1), 128–136. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100329
Window on the World Democratic Studies, established the Journal of Democracy in 1994 that includes scholarly debate and practical policy assessments. Also, the Democratic Resource Center, part of the Forum, serves as a nexus for researching and analysing current democracy promotion movements worldwide with a growing library of democracy studies and materials. More recently, NED initiated the World Movement for Democracy (www.wmd.org) in February 1999, which serves as a ‘network of networks’ dedicated to fostering dialogue and cooperation among the increasing number of democra
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