Network of Democracy Research Institutes

About Member Institutes Democracy Research News

-Democracy Research News-

Contents
1. News and Announcements
2. New Publications and Recent Events by NDRI Members
   2.1 Africa
   2.2 Asia and the Pacific
   2.3 Europe
   2.4 Latin America
   2.5 Middle East
   2.6 Russia and the Former Soviet Union
   2.7 United States and Canada

1. NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Registration for CSID’s 8th Annual Conference:
Registration is now open for the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy’s April 27, 2007 8th annual conference in Washington, D.C. This year’s topic is “The Rights of Women and Minorities in Islam and Muslim Societies.” Scheduled speakers include Geneive Abdo, author of Between Faith and Country? Muslim Life in America After 9/11; Shaykh Abdullah Idris, former president of ISNA; Radwan Masmoudi, founder and president of CSID; Asma Afsaruddin, chair of CSID and professor of Islamic studies, University of Notre Dame; and Irwin Borowsky, director of the National Liberty Museum. Online registration is available here.

New President at the Sejong Institute:
On February 26, Kie-Duck Park was appointed president of the Sejong Institute (South Korea), after years of serving as vice-president. During his tenure, he hopes to help the Institute carry out and accomplish its objectives conducting research in the areas of security, national unification, international relations, and democratic development. The NDRI extends warm congratulations to Kie-Duck and wishes him luck in his new position.

Call for Applications for the Video Advocacy Institute (VAI):
WITNESS, a New York-based organization that uses video and online technologies to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations, has released a call for applications to participate in their inaugural Video Advocacy Institute (VAI). The program will train human rights defenders to successfully integrate video advocacy into their social change campaigns. More information about the program and an application form are available here. The deadline for submission is March 25, 2007.

NDRI Welcomes Two New Members: We are pleased to welcome the following new members of the research network (whose activities are reported in the appropriate geographic sections of this newsletter):

2. New Publications and Recent Events by NDRI Members

Africa

Two new studies have been added to the Afrobarometer Working Paper series since the last issue of Democracy Research News. In the November 2006 "Crime and Support for Democracy: Revisiting Modernization Theory," Kenneth E. Fernandez and Michelle Kuenzi "examine how victimization and perceptions of crime influence citizens' attitudes toward democracy." Their findings illustrate that citizens' view of public safety is just as important as any factor in predicting support for democracy.

In "Ethnic Fractionalization, Electoral Institutions, and Africans' Political Attitudes" (January 2007), Wonbin Cho uses Afrobarometer survey data collected from fifteen sub-Saharan African countries to demonstrate that electoral systems have different effects on citizens' attitudes toward regime performance in various social contexts. Proportional representation systems enjoy an advantage in areas where there are higher levels of ethnic fractionalization, while majoritarian systems are better for boosting popular support for the political system in areas with lower levels.

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-Nigeria) and the United States Institute of Peace published "Nigeria's 2007 Elections: The Fitful Path to Democratic Citizenship," by CDD-Nigeria director Jibrin Ibrahim. This special report discusses the major challenges that confront Nigerians as they move toward the April 2007 multiparty elections. Ibrahim also calls on international observers to assist with monitoring the elections and appeals to civil society as well as the media to make sure that Nigeria's first third successive elections are free and fair.

The Ghana Center for Democratic Development published the June-November 2006 Democracy Watch,which includes articles on misappropriation of public funds during the 2006 World Cup, embedded political patronage in Ghana, obstacles to the advancement of human rights, stagnating decentralization, and other governance matters.

In November 2006, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS, South Africa) published "Ethiopia, Somaliland and Somalia Amid an Islamist Rising Storm on the Horn: The African Union and the Case for Urgent Preventive Diplomacy," the latest addition to its Policy: Issues and Actors paper series by Iqbal Jhazbhay. The author seeks to factor the enduring statelessness of the Somali peninsula into the complex wider regional instability in the northeast core of the Horn of Africa.

Asia and the Pacific

On December 11–13, the Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI, Australia) held its 8th Annual CDI Pacific Parliamentary Dialogue on "National Interest, Local Concerns: Finding the Right Balance" in Samoa. The Dialogue provided a forum for Members of Parliament from the Pacific Island Countries, Australia, and New Zealand to discuss public leadership with regional and international colleagues in a practical, non-partisan environment. Creating personal networks among MPs and with regional institutions, the Dialogue explored the foundations of public leadership in the Pacific Islands and thereby helped strengthen and enhance the political governance of Pacific Island Countries.

On October 20, CDI inaugurated its Political Party Development course, which focused on parties and governance, the role of parties in ensuring political stability, and the need for parties to represent all segments of society, including women. The intensive two-week program exposes participants to the skills needed to run a successful party organization. Topics addressed include the functions of political parties; running effective campaigns; public opinion and polling; successful electoral strategies; media relations; policy development; membership recruitment; issue management; and political party funding. A course report, program, and participant list is available here.

On February 13, Christine Loh, chief executive officer of Civic Exchange (Hong Kong) delivered a speech on "Hong Kong's Democratic Reform: An Unexpected Path?" at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., in which she described the period of British and then Chinese rule and some of the necessary reforms required to make Hong Kong a genuine democracy.

On December 16, Christine Loh also delivered a speech on "Political Parties, Public Policies, and Think Tanks in Hong Kong" at a Hong Kong University conference on "The Role of Political Parties in Hong Kong: The Next Ten Years." In the speech, Loh discussed Hong Kong's capacity to develop public policy within the context of the need for developing political talent and political parties. Criticizing the government for expanding its ministerial system as a means to develop political talent, Loh calls on political parties and think tanks to become the genesis of new ideas and policies.

The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) held its inaugural session of the Youth Parliament Pakistan on January 24–28, in Islamabad. The idea behind the Youth Parliament is to instill in youth that democratic culture and values are central to effective governance in any society. The Youth Parliament has been designed to demonstrate to youth how parliament is able to make legislation; to debate matters of national and international concern; to demand accountability from those in government; to change government without recourse to civil disorder; and to make and enforce their own rules of conduct, practice, and behavior. A summary of the first meeting is available here.

On November 1, PILDAT organized a consultative workshop on "How to Improve Electoral Participation of Women, Youth, and Minorities?" in Karachi, in which participants discussed the need to improve electoral participation of marginalized communities and possible ways of improving effective participation. Participants discussed reasons for political apathy among voters, problems with the quota system for women, and social segregation of minorities as reasons for Pakistan's ineffective electoral arena.

The January-April issue of the Journal of East Asian Studies, edited at the East Asia Institute (EAI, South Korea) and published by Lynne Rienner Publishers, includes articles on economic interdependence and peace, the evolution of South Korea's rural institutions, chronic food shorts and the collective farm system in North Korea, and institutional incentives and informal local political groups in Thailand.

Europe

The Centre for Liberal Studies (CLS, Bulgaria) published "Sovereign Democracy, Russian-Style," by Ivan Krastev, in which he argues that the leaders of the Russian regime are adapting, "conservative European intellectual models of political hegemony" to legitimize its consolidation of power and rule by decree.

Additionally, Mr. Krastev seeks to analyze and answer some fundamental questions for the future of NATO in a paper on "NATO in the Age of Populism." The author argues that NATO is in need of a "two-pillar Alliance" in order to mitigate a potential populist backlash that presents a problem for maintaining public support as well as preserving effective decision making.

The European Stability Initiative (ESI, Germany) recently published "On Mount Olympus. How The UN Violated Human Rights in Bosnia And Herzegovina, And Why Nothing Has Been Done to Correct It," in which the authors describe the inspection process of the Bosnian police by the United Nation's International Police Task Force between 1996 and 2002. The report charges that the police mission lacked the "most basic procedural safeguards" and solemnly calls for human rights justice for the severe mistakes that were made.

ESI also published the Fall 2006 Turkish Policy Quarterly. The journal highlights such issues as transatlantic partnership with the European Union; Turkish public opinion of the West; and the ascension of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to power in Turkey and the problems that poses with the United States and the West in general. Furthermore, an article by Murat Somer focuses on the development of sustainable democracy in Turkey and the roles the European Union and the United States should play in its development.

In cooperation with Routledge publishers, the Center for Policy Studies (CPS, Hungary) and the Centre for the Study of Globalization and Regionalization at the University of Warwick released The World Bank and Governance: A Decade of Reform and Reaction, a critical retrospective review of the World Bank's initiatives and policy reforms over the past ten years. Edited by Diane Stone and Christopher Wright, the book explores everything from the organization's structure and bureaucratic procedures to its evolution of policy and concerns.

In December 2006, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM, Montenegro) published "Guide Against Discrimination," by Saša Gajin, Aleksa Ivanovic, and Rade Bojovic. With the help of the Swedish Helsinki Committee, the Guide first determines what discrimination is, and then proffers the sufficient legal mechanisms for dealing with discrimination. More specifically, the Guide seeks to aid in the adoption of antidiscrimination legislation in Montenegro.

The Institute of Public Affairs (ISP, Poland) published three new reports since the last issue of Democracy Research News. "Ukraine and the EU–Membership or Partnership? The Czech Perspective," by David Král, analyzes the potential for further EU enlargement with the Ukraine and gives special attention to Czech attitudes towards this possible expansion.

Olga Shumylo's report, "The Debate on the EU Membership Prospects of Ukraine," continues the debate on Ukraine membership in the EU while raising the important discussion of Ukraine's alternatives to membership.

In Seda Dominic's "The Turkish Accession to the European Union: Mutually Beneficial? Mutually Possible?" the author reports on the current situation of accession negotiations that have proceeded for more than a year. She draws attention to successes on a technical level but highlights the recent souring of political relations that have arisen over issues such as Cyprus and diverging public opinion toward EU membership.

The Romanian Academic Society (SAR) released Romania 2007: Policy Warning Report that commented on Romania's recent membership in the EU, but stressed that its European agenda is still a work in progress and that the substantial changes which should accompany membership still need to be discussed. SAR underscores four essential policy areas that are vital to Romania's success as a new member: competitiveness, energy policy, human resources, and regional development.

The Democratisation and Rule of Law Program of FRIDE (La Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior, Spain) published "Democracy Promotion and the European Left: Ambivalence Confused?" by David Mathieson and Richard Youngs, which discusses the lack of enthusiasm for democracy promotion by many European governments and the "four axes of doubt and confusion" that afflict the post-9/11 democracy promotion environment: military intervention, U.S. unilateralism, universal values and the Islamist question, and economic development as an alternative.

"New Governments, New Directions in European Foreign Policies?" by Jos Boonstra, Anne-Marie Le Gloannec, David Mathieson, Ulrich Speck, Jonas Tallberg, Nathalie Tocci, and edited by Richard Youngs, raises the issue of recent changes in EU governments and their consequential effect on foreign policy. Each author analyzes their respective country's leadership with regard to the changes in trends and relationships within the EU and with the U.S.

FRIDE also published a paper leading up to the January 21, 2007 Serbian elections titled "Serbia's Elections and the Challenges Ahead," which examines the unresolved issues that are dividing the country's reform-minded sectors and the implications of these trends for European Union policies.

With the sudden death of Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov in late December of 2006, Balazs Jarabik evaluates what the future holds for the country in "Turkmenistan after Turkmenbashi: Transition without Transformation." As Turkmenbashi's political regime was one of the most closed in the world, the author considers the future stability of the country through the transformation and the question of whether there will be an opening up of its energy resources to international markets.

Latin America

In January 2007, the Center for Opening and Development in Latin America (CADAL, Argentina) published "Democracy, the Market, and Transparency 2006," by Gabriel C. Salvia and Hernan Alberro, a report that combines the measurements of political liberties and civil liberties in Freedom House's Freedom in the World, the measurements of economic liberty in the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, and the corruption rankings of Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index to develop a global development index. According to CADAL's measurement, Iceland is the most developed country, while Turkmenistan is the least. In Latin America, Chile earned the highest rank, while Haiti placed last in the region.

CADAL also published the Second Semester 2006 "Local Level Journalism and Democracy Indicators in Latin America," a bi-yearly assessment of the conditions journalists face in the region. This semester's report, written by Fernando Javier Ruiz, finds that the Cuban government has increased levels of repression against journalists to block free access to information; journalists face the most risk in Mexico, where the government is unable to protect them; and President Chávez in Venezuela has cracked down on the private media that opposed him during the election campaign. The 20-page report also describes individual cases of harassment of journalists.

The Instituto de Ciencia Política (ICP, Colombia) recently released several Spanish-language publications, including the January 2007 issue of Parliamentary Observatory on "Habeas data Law and ECOPETROL's Capitalization" and the November 2006 issue of Perspectiva Magazine on "More Accessible Financial Markets."

ICP has also recently held two seminars. On January 22–24, they hosted a workshop on "Latin America: A Freedom Agenda" and on December 6 they held a seminar on "The Implications of U.S. Foreign Policy: Colombia 2006–2010."

On December 8, the Latinobarómetro (Chile) released the results of its Latinobarometro 2006 report in Santiago, Chile. More than 20,000 people were polled about their trust in public institutions, the state of the economy, their understanding of and satisfaction with democracy, and the performance of the government and political leaders. It also includes extensive results of eleven elections conducted in the region in 2006. Full text of this 97-page report is available here.

Middle East

On February 5, the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) hosted a conference on “Democracies Fighting Terror: What Israel and the United Status Can Learn from Each Other’s Experience” in Boca Raton, Florida, in which participants examined ways in which countries can maintain a balance between the operational needs in fighting terrorism and the values of the democratic world. A video of the conference will soon be available on IDI’s Web site.

ThePalestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) has released three survey polls from December 2006. “The Palestinian Public Opinion Poll Number 22” showed a significant increase in the level of dissatisfaction with the Hamas government and more particularly with Mahmud Abbas. However, stability in the levels of support for Fatah shows that those who are dissatisfied with Hamas have not yet shifted their alliance to Fatah.

The “Joint Palestinian-Israeli Public Opinion Poll” reveals a strong preference among Palestinians and Israelis for a comprehensive settlement over the interim political track. Findings indicate that there is a majority approval of a cease-fire agreement, a decline in the support for the Clinton/Geneva Parameter, and a rejection of a refugee settlement and other security arrangements.

The third survey, “The Palestinian Public Opinion Poll,” found that the majority of respondents agree with Abbas and Fatah that the Palestinian Authority president has the right to call early presidential and parliamentary elections. The poll also reveals that an overwhelming majority supports early presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Center for Strategic Studies (Jordan) summarized their recent field surveys in three reports.  In the “Opinion Poll on Reform in Jordan Executive,” Jordanian views towards the reform process, both generally and specifically, are assessed and analyzed so that the formulation of policy and ideals will be more in line with public opinion.

The public along with political leaders were asked to give their views on the prevalence, significance, and general evaluation of corruption in Jordanian public and private sectors in the “Corruption Issues in Jordan a Public Field Survey.”

The Center’s “Democracy Poll 2006” measured the degree to which public freedoms were guaranteed along with perceived obstacles to democratic advancement. The poll also evaluated the parliamentary legislation that addresses not only issues of freedoms but unemployment, poverty, corruption, and price hikes.

In December 2006, the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) published EU Watch, a progress report on EU-Turkish relations. The report responds to the EU Commission's recommendation to suspend Turkey’s accession negotiations by addressing the obstacle’s to the negotiation process and petitioning for a more prudent and comprehensive solution.

On December 4–5, TESEV held a conference on “Internal Displacement in Turkey and Abroad: International Principles, Experiences and Policy Proposals” in Istanbul. The proceedings focused on trying to find a solution to Turkey’s internal displacement problem and addressed the crisis through government and NGO responses and responsibility, resettlement and reintegration of the displaced, and how justice can be achieved.

TheGulf Research Center’s (GRC, United Arab Emirates) second issue of the Gulf Monitor contains articles that address the assembly of experts’ elections in Iran, the position of Russia’s foreign policy towards the Gulf, and public opinion survey results from Bahrain.

GRC’s Gulf-Asia Research Bulletin concentrates on the growing relationship between the Gulf States and Asia through energy projects, security alliances, and other strategic opportunities. One author, Dr. Steffen Hertog, attributes the rapidly expanding relationship to the United States’ failure in the Middle East.

The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID, United States) recently featured two speakers in its Monthly Lecture Series. On January 21, CSID held a lecture on “Human Rights for Women with Headscarves in Turkey,” featuring Fatma Benli, vice president of Women’s Rights’ Organization against Discrimination.

On January 30, CSID hosted a lecture on “American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion,” featuring Paul M. Barrett, assistant managing editor of Business Week.

Russia and the Former Soviet Union

On December 12–15, 2006, the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy, and Development (CIPDD, Georgia) held a "Training for Trainers" for the representatives of seven Georgian political parties. The training focused on empowering the party representatives with the practical skills and tools to conduct trainings of party members, and on discussing strategy-planning issues.

On December 11, CIPDD also hosted a multiparty workshop on "Political Parties and Strategy Planning" in Tbilisi. The representatives of seven Georgian political parties, the Dutch Christian Democratic Party, and the Dutch Centre for Political Participation took part in the event. Workshop participants discussed the importance of strategy planning and its role in the process of institutional development.

On December 8–9, CIPDD also organized a workshop on "Political Forum: 10 Questions on the Political Development of Georgia." Over fifteen experts attended the workshop and each were asked to answer ten specific questions on the political development of Georgia, including assessments of the rules of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Eduard Shevardnadze, and Mikheil Saakashvili, the weakness of opposition parties, Georgian foreign policy, and the stability of the political system.

The Carnegie Moscow Center published the January/February 2007 Pro et Contra, a special issue on municipal reform in Russia. Articles include "Municipal Reform: From Local Self Government to the Power Vertical" by Vladimir Gelman; "Mayors: Battle for Independence" by Aleksey Makarkin; "Small-Town Newspapers" by Maria Eismont; and "New Rules for Municipal Elections" by Alexander Kynev. Full-text of Pro et Contra in Russian, as well as English-language abstracts is available here.

The Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights (Russia) publishes Legislative Process in the State Duma: Human Rights Analysis, a monthly review of the legislative process in the Russian parliament. The November 2006 issue focuses on a draft law proposed by the government that would restrict the dissemination of information whose source is not identified, including writing anonymous blogs or distributing anonymous flyers at political rallies, as well as new legislation that would increase the penalty for committing slander on public officials. The full newsletter is available in Russian and a shorter, English-language version is also available.

The February 26 issue of ICPS Newsletter, a weekly publication of the International Centre for Policy Studies (ICPS, Ukraine) argued that "Ukraine Needs Everyday Democracy." In an interview with a Ukrainian weekly, ICPS Director Volodymyr Nikitin drew attention to the lack of key institutions and processes in Ukraine and argued that the country still does not have everyday democracy, a proper leadership, and no true statesmen. A complete archive of ICPS Newsletter is also available.

United States and Canada

On December 6, 2006, Rights & Democracy (International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, Canada) honored its 2006 John Humphrey Freedom Award laureate Su Su Nway of Burma for "her inspiring efforts to hold Burma's military junta accountable for its forced labor practices."

Rights & Democracy also launched a national campaign with ads in fourteen newspapers across the country to help end the use of forced labor practices in Burma. The November 2006 libertas was also a special issue on Su Su Nway that includes an extensive biography and more information about forced labor in Burma.

Since the last issue of Democracy Research News, the Center for Democracy and Civil Society (CDACS, United States) has featured two speeches in its Speaker Series. On December 1, Nancy Bermeo and Raymond Hicks discussed "Democracy After War: Some Questions and Answers," and on February 22, Jack Citrin spoke about "Testing Huntington: Is Hispanic Immigration a Threat to American National Identity?"

The Fall 2006 Democracy and Society is a special issue on Immigration and the Challenge of Inclusion and features an excerpt from A Nation by Design: Immigration Policy in the Fashioning of America by Artistide R. Zolbert, as well as articles on the "Challenges for the Future" by Elzbieta M. Gozdziak and Susan F. Martin; "The Importance of National Citizenship" by Marc Morjé Howard; "Controlled Cohesion: Responding to Immigrant Integration in Great Britain" by Sara Wallace Goodman; and "Rethinking the Civic Properties of State-Linked Associations" by Benjamin L. Read.

The Center for the Study of Democracy (United States) recently added several new papers to its eScholarship Repository. "Inequality in Political Participation: Contemporary Patterns in European Countries" (January 8, 2007), by Aina Gallego, examines the effect of various sources of inequality (gender, age, social class, education, income, ethnicity, and working status) on political participation. The author finds that age and education are the most widespread causes of distortion, while gender, ethnicity, and occupational variables are less clearly related to participation.

Dorothy Solinger's "The Nexus of Democratization: Guanxi and Governance in Taiwan and the PRC" (November 2, 2006) explores "the extent to which, and the ways in which, the rise of one specific segment of the middle class, the bourgeoisie, contributes to a push for the institution of democracy in Taiwan and China."

Finally, Shawn W. Rosenberg's "Types of Democratic Deliberation: The Limits and Potential of Citizen Participation" (November 2, 2006) explores the deliberative process by developing a typology of the different ways people talk to each other and discovers that participants rarely engaged in the way assumed by liberal democratic theory.

The Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL, United States) recently held several research seminars, including a February 28 seminar by Sheri Berman on "Democracy's True Cost;" a February 21 seminar by Alexandra Hunneus on "Judicial Deference in an Age of Human Rights: The Case of Democratic Chile;" and a February 14 seminar by Eleonora Pasotti on "From Exchange to Persuasion: Post-Machine Politics in Naples, Bogota, and Chicago." More information about these and many other research seminars are available here.

CDDRL also published the Winter 2007 Encina Columns, the Center's biannual newsletter. Topics addressed in this issue include Iran's nuclear ambitions, innovation in China, and EU integration and intervention.

The International Forum for Democratic Studies (United States) published the January 2007 issue of the Journal of Democracy, which features clusters of articles on Mexico and the emergence of democracies, as well as individual articles on the crisis of democracy, revolutions, the Asia-Pacific, Malaysia, presidential term limits, and pathways from authoritarianism. The full texts of selected articles and the tables of contents of all issues are available on the Journal's Web site.

On January 30, the IFDS and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace co-sponsored a panel discussion on "How Democracies Emerge: The 'Sequencing' Fallacy," based on Thomas Carothers's article in the January 2007 Journal of Democracy. Other participants included Jack Snyder, professor of political science, Columbia University and co-author of Electing to Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go to War and Francis Fukuyama, Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.