Network of Democracy Research Institutes
Member Institutes
The institutional profiles below provide contact information, program descriptions, and research and publication highlights for current members of the Network. Most institutions provide more detailed information, including full texts of selected publications, on their own Web sites. Unless otherwise noted, all Network member Web sites listed herein contain information in English.
Africa
Afrobarometer
Contact: Dr. Robert Mattes, Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa);
Dr. E. Gyimah-Boadi, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana);
Prof. Michael Bratton, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University
Idasa
6 Spin Street, Church Square
Cape Town 8001
South Africa
CDD-Ghana
P.O. Box 404, Legon-Accra
Ghana
Michigan State University
Department of Political Science
East Lansing, MI 48824
United States
bob@iadsact.org.za
cdd@ghana.com
mbratton@msu.edu
www.afrobarometer.org
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Mission:
The Afrobarometer is a research survey that measures the social, political, and economic atmosphere in more than a dozen countries in Africa. Because there is a standard set of questions, countries can be systematically compared and, ultimately, trends in public attitudes can be tracked over time.
The Afrobarometer is an international collaborative enterprise of three core partners—the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa), the Ghana Center for Democracy and Development (CDD-Ghana), and Michigan State University in the United States—that collaborate with national partners in sixteen African countries.
Through networking and applied training, the partners aim at mutual capacity-building. Survey results are fed directly into the policy process, usually through nongovernmental organizations. The Afrobarometer seeks to reach diverse audiences, including decision makers in government, policy advocates, donor agencies, journalists, and researchers, as well as voting-age adults in Africa who wish to become informed and active citizens.
Activities include:
- conducting comparative national public-attitude surveys on democracy, markets, and civil society in Africa
- producing reports, working papers, and other studies based on this research and disseminating the results to diverse audiences in government, universities, the media, and civil society
Publication Information: Please visit www.afrobarometer.org/publications.html for a list of Afrobarometer's publications.
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Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)
Contact: Jibrin Ibrahim, director
2L Leroy House
436 Essex Road
Islington, London N1 3QP
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0)20 7359 7775
Fax: +44 (0)20 7359 2221
cdd@cdd.org.uk
www.cdd.org.uk
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Mission:
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that focuses on questions of democratic development and peace-building in West Africa. CDD has offices in Lagos and Abuia, Nigeria, and an international office in London. In addition to conducting research on democratization and good governance, the Centre provides training to groups and individuals promoting democracy and development in the region. The Centre's training and research areas also include human rights, empowerment, peace and security, gender issues, development, and the environment.
Activities include:
- collecting and analyzing information about democratic movements in Nigeria and West Africa and reviewing strategies for democratic opening and consolidation
- researching both the theoretical and practical aspects of democracy and democratization to help shape institutional mechanisms for the establishment and consolidation of a democratic culture
- providing training, briefing papers, background material, and position papers to democratic groups on key aspects of national development, regional networking, organization, and mobilization
- developing strategies for peace building and the deescalation of conflict at the grassroots and national levels
- promoting popular participation in the political process
- contributing to gender equality by promoting women's participation and leadership in governance and civil society and by assessing the impact of authoritarian rule on women in public life
- providing the international community with briefing materials on democratic developments in the region
- monitoring, commissioning, and writing about democratic transitions and the development of political culture
- developing institutional structures to help manage ethnic, regional, religious, and civil-military polarization
Publication Information: For a list of CDD's publications, please visit www.cdd.org.uk.
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Centre for Policy Studies (CPS)
Contact: Christopher Landsberg, director
PO Box 1933
Parklands, Johannesburg
2121 South Africa
Phone: +27-11-442-2666/2667
Fax: +27-11-442-2677
portia@cps.org.za
www.cps.org.za
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Mission:
The Centre for Policy Studies, established in 1987, is an independent policy research institution committed to researching South Africa's most pressing political and social issues. The Centre's research is organized in five program areas, including governance, democratization and civil society, development and delivery, foreign policy and international relations, and poverty, employment, and enterprise.
Activities include:
- hosting and participating in conferences, seminars, and lectures in both academic and nonacademic settings
- conducting field research in such areas as race relations, closing the gap between policy and implementation, civil society and donor funding, business-government relations, inequality (poverty) and democracy, democratic decentralization, and resourcing the state
- publishing research and conference reports, books, and policy briefings
- contributing information to newspapers, journals, and radio and television programs
- working in partnership with other institutions, especially in Africa, to broaden the Centre's research perspective
Publication Information: Please visit the Centre's Web site for a complete list of publications.
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Democracy in Africa Research Unit (DARU)
Contact: Robert Mattes, director
Democracy in Africa Research Unit
Centre for Social Science Research
University of Cape Town
Private Bag
Rondebosch 7701
Cape Town, South Africa
Phone: +27 21 650 4656
Fax: +27 21 650 4657
edownes@cssr.uct.ac.za
www.cssr.uct.ac.za/daru_about.html
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Mission:
Founded in 2002, the Democracy in Africa Research Unit focuses on improving empirical social science research in Africa. The Unit conducts research on citizens, political institutions, and democracy issues, as well as the impact the growing crisis of HIV/AIDS has on these issues. As DARU continues to grow, it is acquiring the capability to collect new data and use it in both education and public policy.
Activities include:
- Conducting research in elections and voting, democratic legislatures, public opinion, social, economic and political indicators in Africa, and AIDS and democracy
- Publishing working papers, available in hard-copy through the publications officer or on their Web site
Publication Information: Visit www.cssr.uct.ac.za/daru_pubs.html for a list of DARU's recent publications.
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Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-GHANA)
Contact: E. Gyimah Boadi, executive director
P.O. Box 404
Legon-Accra, Ghana
Phone: +233-21-776-142; +233-21-763-029; +233-21-784-293; +233-21-784-294
Fax: +233-21-763-028
cdd@ghana.com
www.cddghana.org
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Mission:
The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-GHANA) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of society and government based on the rule of law, appropriate checks on the power of the state, and integrity in public administration. The mission of the Center is to promote democracy, good governance, and the development of a liberal economic environment in Ghana in particular and Africa in general. In so doing, CDD-GHANA seeks to foster ideals of liberty, enterprise, and integrity in government and society at large.
Activities include:
- promoting and publishing research on issues of democracy and economic liberalization
- monitoring and analyzing democratic consolidation in Ghana and Africa
- promoting transparency and accountability in the administration and allocation of public resources
- encouraging public access to information and data
- training governmental and civil society agencies to strengthen oversight capabilities
- conducting programs on conflict management and resolution
- providing consulting and technical support on governance issues
Publication Information: For a list of CDD's publications, please visit www.cddghana.org/publication.asp.
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Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa)
Contact: Paul Malcolm Graham, executive director
P.O. Box 1739
Cape Town 8000, South Africa
Phone: +27-21-461-2559
Fax: +27-21-461-2589
kim@idasa.org.za
yoemna@idasa.org.za
www.idasa.org.za/
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Mission:
Idasa is an independent public interest organization committed to building the capacity for democracy in civil society and government in South Africa. Founded in 1987 with a staff of three, Idasa today is a national organization with a staff of more than 140. Through national programs organized at its two democracy centers—the Kutlwanong Democracy Centre in Pretoria and the Cape Town Democracy Centre—as well as through other special program and service units, Idasa works to build democratic institutions, to educate citizens, and to advocate social justice in contemporary South Africa.
Activities include:
- public opinion in South and Southern Africa, including the Southern African Democracy Barometer and Afrobarometer
- political institutions in South Africa
- local governance in South Africa
- budgets and state expenditures in South Africa
Publication Information: For a list of Idasa's publicatoins, please visit www.idasa.org.za.
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