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Building the World Movement for DemocracyInaugural World AssemblyFebruary 14-17, 1999 New Delhi, India "Democracy succeeds if it is born from the people, as it was here in India."The report that follows is an attempt to capture in a few pages the spirit and substance of an extraordinary gathering--the founding assembly of the World Movement for Democracy (WMD). The venue for this gathering of 400 democratic activists and thinkers from over 80 countries was India, the world's largest democracy. The fact that India is neither a Western nor an affluent country highlighted the assembly's central theme of democratic universalism. The idea of democracy as a system of self-government and a way of life suitable to people everywhere, regardless of their culture or level of economic development, unified and inspired the assembly and made possible the unanimous decision to found the WMD. The delegates who came together in India from all regions of the world represented a variety of institutions working to promote democracy--political parties, trade unions, business associations, NGOs, research institutes, civic education organizations, anti-corruption groups, and democracy-support foundations--as well as parliamentarians and government officials with a special interest in democracy. The Founding Statement they adopted emphasized that the WMD is not "a new centralized organization that will make decisions on its own," or even "an organization as such." Rather, they proclaimed, "it is a pro-active network of democrats that will meet periodically (not less than once every two years) to exchange ideas and experiences and to foster collaboration among democratic forces around the world." The WMD is an attempt to strengthen democratic initiatives worldwide by fostering new linkages, support networks, and voluntary collaboration among like-minded practitioners and academics. The establishment of this new alliance is inspired by the belief that such interaction on a worldwide scale is critically important in a new era of global economics and instant communications. The WMD, it is hoped, will help democrats the world over respond to the challenges of globalization. The program of the New Delhi assembly combined memorable statements about democracy and democratic struggles with workshops designed to develop a practical agenda for democratic action. The statement that provided the new movement with a powerful manifesto was Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen's keynote address--a brilliantly argued affirmation of democratic universalism from the sweeping perspective of history, economics, culture, and politics. Other statements focused on democratic institutions as the only secure foundation for economic development, ethnic and religious pluralism, and the protection of human rights. In addition to receiving messages of solidarity from more than a dozen heads of state, the assembly also heard from veterans of successful democratic struggles and activists currently battling authoritarianism. On one level, therefore, the assembly of the WMD established a global forum for the exchange of views and experiences on democracy. But it was the workshops that justified the delegates' claim to have established a global movement, for it was there that they developed action proposals to foster democratic change. There were both functional and regional workshops. The former brought together practitioners in nine specific fields--political parties, trade unions, business associations, research institutes, democracy-support foundations, organizations devoted to civic education and fighting corruption, civil society NGOs, and groups trying to develop the potentialities of new communications technologies. Each workshop was asked to draw up a list of priorities for follow-up activities.
The reports presented to the plenary by representatives of the workshops constitute the beginning of an action plan for the World Movement. The test, of course, will be in the follow-up. But the fact that the delegates put so much effort into the organization of the workshop discussions and the development of the priorities for action demonstrated how strongly they believed the World Movement could assist democratic efforts around the world. This was especially apparent during the consideration of the WMD's draft Founding Statement which was heavily amended, but emerged nonetheless as a ringing endorsement of the new movement. The remarkable consensus achieved among such an extraordinarily diverse group of activists testified to the intense desire of the assembled delegates that the movement should succeed. The final decision to call it the World Movement for Democracy, after a debate in which the terms "alliance," "forum," and "network"were considered and then rejected, showed that an authentic world movement with a common identity had, in fact, been born. The next steps for the WMD are the establishment of a steering committee to plan the next assembly and to follow up on the initiatives proposed by the workshops, and also to encourage the Movement's growth and public recognition. Among the areas of activity that might form the basis for additional functional workshops at the next assembly are human rights, independent media, the rule of law, women's organizations, and groups committed to interreligious tolerance and understanding.
It is appropriate to note in conclusion that the founding assembly of the WMD could not have taken place without the cooperation between NED and its two Indian partner organizations, the Centre for Policy Research and the Confederation of Indian Industry. This cooperation is a wonderful example of the kind of sharing that the WMD hopes to promote on a global scale. We are grateful to our Indian friends and hope that our joint effort may have also helped deepen the friendship between our two democracies. 
Carl GershmanPresident National Endowment for Democracy |
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