World Movement for Democracy - Network of Democracy Research Institutes

Network of Democracy Research Institutes

About

Member Institutes

Democracy Research News

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.

Asia and the Pacific

Academy of Political Education
Contact: Damba Ganbat, executive director
P.O Box 337
Ulaanbaatar 210620
Mongolia
Phone: +976-11-312761; +976-11-312763
Fax: +976-11 - 312753
anaraa@academy.org.mn
www.academy.org.mn

Mission:
The Academy of Political Education is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization whose primary objective is to support and strengthen a social order based on solidarity, rule of law, and a democratic state that respects individual human rights and liberties. The Academy's goals include spreading the ideas of human rights and liberties, creating an open society based on pluralism, implementing the democratic rule of law, encouraging parliamentarism and a multiparty system, and supporting good governance and the decentralization of power.

Activities include:

organizing and providing informal educational programs in democracy, human rights, civic education, and the media
conducting independent and joint research projects in political science, economics, and law and justice, including those that involve both domestic and international organizations, institutions, and individuals
publishing periodicals, brochures, and textbooks
participating as a country partner in the East Asia Barometer research project

Publication Information: Please visit the Academy's Web site for a list of publications.

Center for Peace and Civil Society
Contact: Jami Chandio, executive director
B-98, Qasim Nagar
Qasimabad, Hyderabad, Sindh
Post Code: 71000
Pakistan
Phone: +92 22 265 2401
Fax: +92 22 265 2401
cpcs.sindh@hotmail.com
www.cpcs.org.pk

Mission:
The Center for Peace and Civil Society (CPCS) is a non-profit civic initiative that was established in 2001 by a group of individuals from diverse backgrounds ranging from politics to media, and academia to writers and intellectuals. CPCS is an independent think-tank that works to strengthen political and civil society based on principles of democracy, freedom, and justice. CPCS works with political parties, youth, women, mass media, and other non-governmental institutional actors.

Activities include:

organizing conferences, seminars, and inter-disciplinary dialogues in Hyderabad, Karachi and other districts in the south of Pakistan
publishing political and civic literature in Sindhi, Urdu, and English languages
organizing “Dialogue for Change,” a monthly advocacy, to provide a forum for political discussion among opinion leaders and civil society

Publication Information: For a list of publications visit www.cpcs.org.pk/publications/freedom.php.

Centre for Policy Alternatives
Contact: Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director
24/2, 28th Lane, Off Flower Road
Colombo 7
Sri Lanka
Phone: +94 11 2565304 6, 5552746, 5552748
Fax: 94 11 4714460
info@cpalanka.org
www.cpalanka.org

Mission:
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), founded in 1996, is an independent, nonpartisan public-policy research and advocacy organization that focuses on issues of governance and conflict resolution in Sri Lanka. The Centre seeks not only to contribute its own inputs to the policy-making process but to strengthen the role of other civil-society actors in policy development and implementation. CPA receives support from international and bilateral funding agencies and foundations. Its research programs include units on legal and constitutional studies, conflict and peace analysis, media monitoring, opinion polling, and monitoring election violence.

Activities include:

conducting policy research and disseminating the findings through publications, seminars, conferences, and the print and electronic media
advocating constructive policy alternatives, lobbying decision makers, and shaping public opinion to strengthen and safeguard democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, human rights, and social justice
monitoring the executive, legislature, and judicial branches of government, as well as the media and other public institutions
provision of consultancy services to political parties and other organizations involved in the field of public policy and engaging them in dialogue on the issues identified above
forging linkages with local and foreign institutions with similar aims and objectives

Publication Information: For a list of publications visit www.cpalanka.org/publications.html.

Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI)
Contact: Benjamin Reilly, director
Centre for Democratic Institutions
Crawford School
Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
Phone: +61 2 6125 0605
Fax: +61 2 6125 9726
cdi@anu.edu.au
www.cdi.anu.edu.au

Mission:
The Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI) is a government-funded body that supports the efforts of new democracies in the Asia-Pacific region to democratically reform their political systems.

It provides training, technical assistance and peer support for parliamentarians and emerging leaders, with a focus on the Southeast Asian and the South Pacific states.

The Australian Government established CDI in 1998. It is funded primarily by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

CDI works to promote democracy by strengthening parliamentary governance and political parties. The Centre focusses on parliamentary and political party development, and conducts flagship training courses and policy-relevant research on these subjects.

Activities include:

strengthening parliaments
judicial training
NGO leadership courses
support for ombudsmen and their staff
media courses for journalists and editors
anticorruption courses
support for the implementation of human rights treaties
technical assistance in the fields of good governance and civil society

Publication Information: To view CDI's publications, please visit www.cdi.anu.edu.au.

Centre for Policy Research (CPR)
Contact: Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president and chief executive;
Charan Wadhva, research professor
Centre For Policy Research
Dharma Marg, Chanakyapuri
New Delhi - 110 021
India
Phone: +91 11 2611 5273
Fax: +91 11 2687 2746
cprindia@vsnl.com
www.cprindia.org/

Mission:
The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is an independent think tank established in 1973 to conduct research on the major policy issues confronting India. The CPR helps to develop a body of knowledge about policy making and to suggest alternative policy options. CPR scholars interact regularly with policy makers, academic researchers, the media, and others involved in the policy process.

The Centre's research agenda focuses on five areas: political issues and governance, foreign policy, external and internal security, economic policy, and social issues. It currently sponsors work on reform of the Indian political system, accountability in parliament, constitutional reform, self-governance in northeast India, and managing the metropolis.

Activities include:

developing substantive policy options for the improvement of policy making and management
promoting national development through the study of various sectors of the polity, economy, and society
providing advisory services to government, public bodies, and other institutions on such issues as performance and the optimum use of national resources for social and economic development
disseminating information through the publication of books, journals, reports, and research papers

Publication Information: A list of CPR's publications is available at www.cprindia.org/publication.htm.

Civic Exchange
Contact: Christine Loh, chief executive officer
Room 701, Hoseinee House
69 Wyndham Street
Central, Hong Kong
Phone: +852 2893 0213
cloh@civic-exchange.org
www.civic-exchange.org

Mission:
Civic Exchange is an independent policy-research center that was founded in 2000. Its mission is to promote civic education by conducting and publicizing research on the most important political, social, economic, and environmental issues facing Hong Kong. The center seeks to shape public debate by contributing well-founded and reasoned arguments, supported by careful policy analysis. Civic Exchange was designed to be a new type of organization in Hong Kong: a cooperative social enterprise that develops a network of people working together to meet the needs of the community.

Activities include:

providing clear thinking on complex issues and helping to generate better solutions to social problems, including finding worldwide solutions that may be adapted to local and regional conditions
cultivating long-term relationships with public-sector officials, politicians, business leaders, NGOs, educators, and decision makers in other fields, and communicating ideas directly to them
creating dialogue with multiple stakeholders on such issues as transportation, urban design, conservation, sustainable development, telecommunications, energy, and corporate governance

Publication Information: For a list of publications, please visit www.civic-exchange.org/n_publications.htm.

Asian Barometer
Contact: Professor Yu-tzung Chang, project manager
Asian Barometer
Department of Political Science
National Taiwan University
21 Hsu-chow Road
Taipei, Taiwan, 100
Phone: 886 22 357 0427
Fax: 886 22 357 0420
yutzung@ntu.edu.tw
www.asianbarometer.org

Mission:
The Asian Barometer is a systematic comparative survey of attitudes and values toward politics, governance, democracy, reform, and citizens' activities in East Asia, covering nine political systems—Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.

The purpose of the Barometer is to assess levels of popular support for democratic government and belief in its legitimacy. The research is designed to make theoretical and substantive advances in our understanding of how variation in the macro-level properties of a political system impact on value changes, affect democratic value-orientations and democratic legitimacy, constrain political behavior, and shape the way citizens evaluate the political system and processes.

Activities include:

performing systematic comparative public-opinion surveys in a number of East Asian countries
encouraging and engaging in public debates about democracy and democratization, particularly in East Asia
developing a regional intellectual community for democracy research based on opinion surveys of ordinary citizens

Publication Information: Please visit www.asianbarometer.org for a list of publications.

East Asia Institute
Contact: Dr. Sook-Jong Lee, director
#909 Sampoong B/D
310-68 Euljiro 4-ga, Jung-gu
Seoul 100-786 Korea
Phone: +82 2 2277 1683
Fax: +82 2 2277 1684
eai@eai.or.kr
www.eai.or.kr

Mission:
Founded in May 2002 under the initiative of former prime minister Lee Hong-Koo, chairman Hong Seok-Hyun of Joongang Daily Newspaper, and Dr. Kim Byung-Kook of Korea University, the East Asia Institute strives to transform East Asia into a society of nations based on liberal democracy, market economy, open society, and peace. To this end, the East Asia Institute works to propagate liberal values and ideas including diversity, tolerance, accountability, and transparency through research, education, international exchange, and civic activism.

Activities include:

The EAI builds wide and dense networks among scholars, NGOs, and practitioners by inviting individuals to establish research centers within its broad umbrella, with considerable autonomy in setting research priority, raising and disbursing funds, as well as in deciding personnel policy. The institute currently houses six research centers on "Policy Development," "Legislative and Party Politics," "Elections," "Open Society," "Presidential Studies," and "Economic Catch-Up." The EAI will add on more centers as more individuals join its cause in the political, economic, and social realms.
The EAI has set up two task forces to reshape Korea's national political agenda, to alter its discourse for reform, and to advance liberal ideas in 2002—one on "Redefining Presidential Roles and Restructuring Presidential Powers" and another on "Generational Change, Ideological Transformation, and New Electoral Politics." The two task forces plan to publish their findings in 2002 and 2003.

Publication Information: Please visit the Institute's Web site for a list of publications.

Institute for National Policy Research (INPR)
Contact: Chih-cheng Lo, executive director
5F, 238 Sungjiang Road
Taipei, Taiwan
Phone: + 886 2 2511 5009
Fax: + 886 2 2560 5536
inprpd@ms8.hinet.net
http://www.inpr.org.tw/

Mission:
Founded in 1989 under the initiative of Evergreen Group Chairman Chang Yung-fa, the INPR was created to contribute a nongovernmental but professional analytic perspective on Taiwan's democratic transition. It has four major goals: the advancement of democratic constitutionalism, the promotion of a liberal and equitable economic system, the re-establishment of social ethics and morality, and the raising of Taiwan's international status. To this end, INPR's research program is subdivided into seven major topics: democratization and constitutional reform, society and culture, economic policy and public finance, national defense policy, cross-strait relations and mainland policy, Asia-Pacific affairs, and Taiwan's international role.

Activities include:

conducting research on the full implementation of the constitution of the Republic of China, environment and ecology, land rezoning, social welfare, culture, and ethical reform, as well as on Taiwan's economic status in the world, its reparticipation in international organizations, relations between Taiwan and mainland China, and Taiwan's integration into the political and economic community in Southeast Asia
hosting regular conferences, seminars, and press conferences to publicize its research findings
publishing a regular periodical and a book series

Publication Information: For a list of publications, please visit the Institute's Web site.

International Center for Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance (INCITEGov)
Contact: Teresita Quintos Deles, executive director
Unit 1110 Prestige Tower
F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center
Pasig City
Philippines
Phone: + 632 634 1334
Fax: + 886 2 2560 5536
info@incitegov.org
http://www.incitegov.org

Mission:
INCITEGov is a membership-based organization founded by officials who resigned in response to the “Hello, Garci” scandal and those who believe that the Arroyo administration had abandoned its reform agenda. It is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and practice in undertaking authentic reform leading to social transformation in the Philippines as well as in other areas of the world. Their objectives are based on the R-G-D framework – Democratic Politics, Good Governance, and Development Outcomes. INCITEGov has been actively engaged in democratic politics to secure key changes in governance that yield gains in development, and use these gains to scale up engagement in politics in what they hope would result in a virtuous circle. INCITEGov is also involved in areas such as strengthening the democratic reform movement, security sector governance, budget accountability and crossover leadership, in which they facilitate a variety of research and projects. Articles of members of INCITEGov are published on the website.

Activities include:

conducts workshops and forums on a variety of topics such as judicial and electoral administration, budget monitoring, and migration and development national consultation
prepares research and projects on democratic reform movement, crossover leadership, security sector governance, and budget accountability.

Publication Information: For a list of publications, please visit INCITEGov's Web site.

King Prajadhipok's Institute (KPI)
Contact: Thawilwade Bureekul, director and research specialist
47/101 Moo 4 , Tiwanon Road,
Taladkwan Subdistrict, Muang District
Nonthaburi
Thailand
11000
Muang District
Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand
Phone: +66 2 527 7830
Fax: +66 2 527 7826; +66 2 527 7828
Thawilwade@kpi.ac.th
www.kpi.ac.th/kpien/

Mission:
King Prajadhipok's Institute is an independent organization that was established in 1994 to promote democracy through research, education, and training in the areas of politics and governance. It receives funding from the Thai government and external sources to conduct research, publish papers, host conferences, and conduct training workshops for parliamentarians, civil servants, business leaders, nongovernmental organizations, and other groups on such topics as democratization and Thai legislative and governmental development.

Activities include:

conducting research on the promotion of democracy and peace
providing academic training to public and private sector leaders to deepen their understanding of democracy and peace
supporting parliamentary academic work
disseminating information about politics, administration, and democracy
coordinating academic exchanges with domestic and foreign institutions engaged in the study of democratic principles
archiving and displaying historical materials related to King Prajadhipok in the King Prajadhipok Museum

Publication Information: For a list of KPI's publications, please visit the Institute's Web site.

Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)
Contact: Aasiya Riaz, joint director
#7, 9th Avenue, F-8/1
Islamabad 44000
Pakistan
Phone: +92 51 111 123 345
Fax: +92 51 226 3078
info@pildat.org
www.pildat.org

Mission:
PILDAT is an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit indigenous research and training institution with the mission to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions in Pakistan. PILDAT has been actively engaged with building the capabilities of elected legislators towards a better discharge of their functions of legislation, representation and oversight. PILDAT regularly conducts training/briefing workshops and sessions for legislators belonging to the National and Provincial Assemblies as well as the Senate. As a non-partisan political research institution, PILDAT regularly prepares well-researched briefing/background papers and Case Studies for Pakistani Parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and politicians on crucial policy issues. The PILDAT State of Democracy Report, the flagship publication of PILDAT in its democracy watch program, carries an in depth yet concise quarterly review of democratic development for the local and international audience. PILDAT facilitates the formulation of issue based caucuses across parties in the Legislatures. PILDAT also sensitises the civil society organisations to lobby effectively with legislators on policy related issues, while the e-democracy programme of PILDAT looks at ways and means to build better network between the public and parliamentarians.

Activities include:

conducts training/briefing workshops for Pakistani Parliamentarians.
prepares briefing/background papers and case studies for Pakistani Parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and politicians on crucial policy issues
publishes the State of Democracy Report, a quarterly review of democratic development for local and international audiences.

Publication Information: Please visit www.pildat.org/publications.asp for a list of recent publications.

The Sejong Institute
Contact: Dae Sung Song, president
400 Daewang Pangyo-ro
Sujeong-gu, Seongnam
Kyeonggi Province
Republic of Korea
Phone: +82 31 750 7500
Fax: +82 31 723 8800
kdpark@sejong.org
www.sejong.org

Mission:
The Sejong Institute was founded in 1986 to contribute to Korea's development by conducting research on national security, unification, and international relations. Since its inception, the Institute has organized numerous international conferences, symposiums, and seminars to foster exchanges of views and ideas on regional and global issues relevant to Korea's development. It also sponsors joint research projects with other organizations, both domestic and foreign, and conducts educational and training programs for high-level government officials and managers from the private sector.

Activities include:

conducting research in four main program areas: security studies, inter-Korean relations, regional studies, and international political economy
administering a visiting research fellow program
sponsoring and organizing joint research projects, international academic conferences, domestic academic conferences, colloquia, seminars, and a series of Sejong Luncheons and Lectures

Publication Information: A list of publications is available on the Institute's Web site.