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Network of Democracy Research Institutes
-Democracy Research News-No. 2, February 2002Welcome to the second issue of Democracy Research News, the newsletter of the Network of Democracy Research Institutes. The Network is a membership association of organizations that conduct and publish research on democracy and democratic development. It is also one of several functional networks associated with the World Movement for Democracy (www.wmd.org). The Network is pleased to welcome five new institutions as members this month. Brief profiles of the new members appear below; news about their publications and activities also appears in the appropriate sections of this newsletter. Including the new members, the Network now consists of twenty-four democracy research centers around the world. Profiles of all members and additional information about the Network are available at www.wmd.org/ndri/ndri.html. Please direct membership inquiries to Tom Skladony (). Democracy Research News is distributed exclusively by e-mail. Subscriptions are available free of charge by writing to . We have begun sending Democracy Research News to several existing mailing lists, including participants in the World Movement for Democracy, contributors to the Journal of Democracy, university professors and think-tank scholars of democratization and area studies, and lists provided by members and friends of the Research Network. Some readers who appear on multiple lists may receive multiple copies of this newsletter in the early months. We apologize for any inconvenience as we work to consolidate our lists and to purge duplicate addresses. We encourage readers to forward this newsletter to colleagues who may be interested. If you received this newsletter from a colleague and wish to subscribe directly, please write to . If you do not wish to receive Democracy Research News, simply send the message "unsubscribe" to . Contents 1. News and Announcements 2. New Publications by Research Network Members 3. Recent Events 4. New Research on Democracy 1. NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS The Network of Democracy Research Institutes is pleased to welcome five new members this month. Please visit the Web sites of these institutions for more information about their activities and publications.
Professional Exchange Visits In the November 2001 issue of Democracy Research News, the Network of Democracy Research Institutes announced the establishment of a modest fund to support professional exchange visits between member institutions. (The exchange visits program and the publications exchange program described below are made possible by the generous support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation of Menlo Park, California.) The fund provides partial financial support to allow individual researchers or small teams from developing democracies to visit their counterparts at other Network member institutes for brief working trips of (for example) 3-10 days duration. Typical expenses will include travel, housing, and meals expenses or other costs directly related to these visits. Funds may be requested for the following types of activities:
The above list is not exhaustive. But since the purpose of this program is to strengthen member institutes and the Network as a whole, all exchange visits must involve at least two member institutes, and possibly more. The visitor must come from a member institute in a developing democracy but the host organization may be any other Network member. We expect that both the visitor and the host institute will bear at least some of the costs of the exchange visit wherever possible. Depending on the available resources of the Network and the visitor and host institutions, the Network might provide air tickets or other travel costs while the visiting scholar provides for his or her own meals. The host institute will be expected to provide suitable workspace (desk, computer, Internet access, if possible) and to help secure (and perhaps even provide) local housing. Individual circumstances will vary, and the items above are merely examples. The exchange visits program is brand new. There is no formal application process. We encourage Network members to consult among themselves and, when they have developed possible partnership ideas, to send a brief letter of inquiry to Tom Skladony (). This letter need not be more than two or three pages but should include a concise project description, a timetable, and a budget. We anticipate that we will be able to support four to six such professional visits in 2002 (or possibly more, depending on the amounts requested). If successful, we hope to continue and expand the program in future years. Network Support for Publication Exchanges The Network of Democracy Research Institutes is also pleased to announce its pilot program of financial support for publication exchanges among Network members. The Network has established a modest fund that may be used for two purposes:
In both cases the purpose of this modest program is to help Network members acquire and share new information about democracy. There is no formal proposal process. Please send inquiries and requests for funding to Tom Skladony at . Romanian Journal of Political Science Calls for Submissions The Romanian Journal of Political Science, a publication of the Romanian Academic Society (http://sar.euroweb.ro), is accepting papers and paper proposals for future issues. Submissions should be from 4,000 to 8,000 words in length and written in either Romanian or English. Please visit the Society's Web site at http://sar.euroweb.ro/polsci.htm for more information. New Project on Political Party Capacity in Ukraine The International Centre for Policy Studies (Ukraine, www.icps.kiev.ua) has launched a new project entitled "Building the Capacity of Political Parties to Prepare Election Programs." The project is financed by the Open Society Institute and aims to help build the capacity of Ukrainian political parties to manage effective campaign programs. At the conclusion of the project, the Centre will publish a manual on preparing election programs. For more details about this project visit http://www.icps.kiev.ua/projects/eng/political_parties. 2. NEW PUBLICATIONS BY RESEARCH NETWORK MEMBERS The International Forum for Democratic Studies (United States, www.ned.org) and Johns Hopkins University Press announce the publication in fall 2001 of The Global Divergence of Democracies, edited by Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner. Conceived as a a sequel to The Global Resurgence of Democracy, also edited by Diamond and Plattner, the new book examines why the resurgence of democracy seems to have halted and, in some places, even to have reversed. For more information about this book and other Forum publications, visit www.ned.org/publications/publications.html. The Asian Center for Democratic Governance, a partnership project of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), recently published a report on its inaugural conference, held in New Delhi on January 7-8, 2001. The conference, entitled "Making Democracy Work: Accountability and Transparency," included participants from twelve countries in Asia, as well as democratic governance experts and practitioners from the United States and the United Kingdom. The purpose of the event was to identify key issues relating to democratic governance in Asia and to generate an agenda for future activities of the Asian Center. The full text of this report has been published on the Web site of the Asian Center (www.ned.org/acdg). Printed copies and additional information on the Asian Center are also available from Peter Vancura . In February the Romanian Academic Society (Romania, http://sar.euroweb.ro) published "Enlightened Participation? Political Learning in a Post-Communist Environment: Lessons from the Fall 2000 Romanian Campaign," a study by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi that examined the impact of electoral campaigns on democratic socialization and political participation. Visit http://sar.euroweb.ro/wpcol.htm for the full text. In March the Institute for Public Affairs (Slovak Republic, www.ivo.sk) published English editions of two books that had previously been released in Slovak. The first, Civil Society and Governance in Slovakia, edited by Michal Vašečka, examined the historical roots of civil society in Slovakia and their impact on the country's current political culture. Slovakia 2000: A Global Report on the State of Society, edited by Miroslav Kollár, Grigorij Mesežnikov, and Tom Nicholson, is the Institute's major annual collection of essays on domestic politics, foreign affairs, social policy, and public opinion. The Institute also published Slovakia 2001: A Pictorial Report on the State of the Country by photojournalist Martin Kollár. The book used annotated photographs of the everyday lives of ordinary citizens to illustrate the accomplishments and unfinished agenda of Slovakia's democratic transition. For further information about these and other IVO publications, visit the Institute's Web site at www.ivo.sk. Roland Rich, director of the Centre for Democratic Institutions (Australia, www.cdi.anu.edu.au) published "Bringing Democracy Into International Law" in the July 2001 issue of the Journal of Democracy. The article examined how concepts of democracy are being embedded as norms in international law. The full text of the article is available at www.cdi.anu.edu.au/research.html. In September the Centre published the first issue of CDI.News, an electronic newsletter that chronicles recent activities and coming events of the Centre. To subscribe, visit www.cdi.anu.edu.au/cdinews.html. Robert L. Ostergard, Jr., a research fellow at the Center on Democratic Performance (United States, http://cdp.binghamton.edu), and Ricardo R. Laremont, associate director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University, published "The Challenges of Consolidating the Transition from Military to Civilian Rule: The Nigerian, Argentine, and Brazilian Experiences," a report summarizing the key conclusions of a conference entitled "The Military in Africa and Latin America: A Dialogue between Soldiers and Civilians in Quest of Democracy." The August 2000 event was sponsored by the Center, the Institute of Global Cultural Studies, and the Institute of Governance and Social Research in Nigeria. The full text of the report is available at http://cdp.binghamton.edu/news/military.html. In May the Centre for Liberal Strategies (Bulgaria, www.cls-sofia.org), in collaboration with the Employers Association of Bulgaria, released a report entitled "Economic Benefits for Bulgaria from Joining NATO," focusing on the expected economic and social consequences of membership in the Atlantic Alliance. See www.cls-sofia.org/publications/index-en.htm for the complete text. The Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa, www.idasa.org.za) published a report entitled "The State of Civil Society in South Africa" in November. The report, based on a survey conducted in partnership with the Cooperative for Research and Education, was prepared for SANGOCO (the South African National NGO Coalition) as part of a larger ongoing study of the vitality and effectiveness of civil society in South Africa. For the full text of the report visit www.idasa.org.za. The Center for Democracy and Human Rights (Montenegro) has published four reports on Montenegro's transition process, two each in a series of reports for January-March and April-June. The first series focuses on the legislature, the media, and privatization and considers such issues as the electoral atmosphere, minority government, and privatization plans. The second series looks at such issues as statehood, foreign policy, human rights, individual liberties, and recent elections. For more information about these reports, please write to the Center at . The 2000-2001 annual report of Rights and Democracy (Canada, www.ichrdd.ca), recapping the organization's activities and programs for the past year, is now available at www.ichrdd.ca. The Sejong Institute (South Korea, www.sejong.org) recently published two research studies: "Russia's Political Blocs: Toward Democratic Consolidation?" by Eunsook Chung (April) and "Historical Analysis of Political Party Reform in the United States" by Sung Geun Choi (February). For more information about these publications, visit the Sejong Institute's Web site at www.sejong.org. 3. RECENT EVENTS On March 29-31 the Institute for Public Affairs (www.ivo.sk) hosted a conference in Bratislava entitled "The Reform Process in Central and Eastern Europe.Ten Years After." Participants at the event, which was cosponsored by IVO and the Washington, D.C.-based Council on Foreign Relations, discussed civil-society development, military reform, the impact of globalization on countries in transition, and the current role of the United States and the European Union in sustaining the reform process. For more information visit www.ivo.sk/showivot.asp?Source=IVOtoday&Id=105. On June 7-9 the Center on Democratic Performance (United States, http://cdp.binghamton.edu) hosted its inaugural "Conference on Democratic Performance," focusing on governing institutions, nonstate actors, and policy community perspectives. The conference program and a list of participants are available at http://cdp.binghamton.edu/conference/index.html. The Center also served as a cosponsor of a conference organized with the Institute for Global Cultural Studies on October 26-28 on the theme of "Dialogue Among Civilizations." Edward McMahon, director of the Center, moderated panel discussions entitled "Defining Democracy" and "Democracy and Globalization" at the event. For more information visit http://cdp.binghamton.edu/projects/globalconference.html. On June 1-14 the Centre for Democracy and Development (United Kingdom, www.cdd.org.uk) sponsored a workshop entitled "Strategic Thinking Leadership Training" for Nigerian youth. Participants from student unions, youth organizations, and community-based nongovernmental organizations discussed such topics as human rights, individual empowerment, community building, and conflict management. The workshop's report is available at www.cdd.org.uk/strategic_thinking.htm. On August 21-22 Australia's Centre for Democratic Institutions (www.cdi.anu.edu.au) hosted a workshop in the Republic of Vanuatu on parliamentary accountability. HE Father John Bennett Bani, president of Vanuatu, delivered the keynote address. The workshop's report is available at www.cdi.anu.edu.au/projects.html. On August 6-8 the Asian Center for Democratic Governance held a workshop in New Delhi, India, entitled "Freedom of Information for Good Governance." The workshop was organized in cooperation with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Washington, D.C.-based Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). It included sessions on the legal and political environment for freedom of information, the role of government and the media in providing transparency, economic information and the role of the business community, and the impact of new technologies. The workshop's report will be published on the Asian Center's Web site at www.ned.org/acdg in the near future. On October 28 the International Forum for Democratic Studies (www.ned.org) sponsored a panel discussion entitled "Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup." The event featured several contributors to the October 2000 Journal of Democracy symposium on that subject, including Anders Aslund, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Nadia Diuk, senior program officer for Central and Eastern Europe at the NED; and Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr., director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and professor of international relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University. 4. NEW RESEARCH ON DEMOCRACY CORIS (Corruption Online Research Information System) Transparency International recently announced the launching of CORIS (Corruption Online Research Information System), an Internet-based resource on corruption worldwide. The system includes a searchable database with thousands of bibliographic references and selected full-text documents. Visit www.transparency.org/coris to access the database or for further information. Selected Books Received by the Journal of Democracy Arguing Comparative Politics. By Alfred Stepan. Oxford University Press, 2001. Deferring Democracy: Promoting Openness in Authoritarian Regimes. By Catharin E. Dalpino. Brookings Institution, 2000. Defusing Democracy: Central Bank Autonomy and the Transition from Authoritarian Rule. By Delia M. Boylan. University of Michigan Press, 2001. Democracy, Liberalism, and War: Rethinking the Democratic Peace Debate. Edited by Tarak Barkawi and Mark Laffey. Lynne Rienner, 2001. Democratization and Expansionism: Historical Lessons, Contemporary Challenges. By Masayo Ohara. Praeger, 2001. Dynamics of Contention. By Doug McAdam, Sidney Tarrow, and Charles Tilly. Cambridge University Press, 2001. Freedom and Finance: Democratization and Institutional Investors in Developing Countries. By Mary Ann Haley. Palgrave, 2001. From Neighborhood to Nation: The Democratic Foundations of Civil Society. By Ken Thomson. University Press of New England, 2001. Legalization and World Politics. Edited by Judith L. Goldstein, Miles Kahler, Robert O. Keohane, and Anne-Marie Slaughter. MIT Press, 2001. Managing Global Issues: Lessons Learned. Edited by P.J. Simmons and Chantal de Jonge Oudraat. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2001. Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict, Revised Edition. Edited by Michael E. Brown, Owen R. Coté, Jr., Sean M. Lynn-Jones, and Steven E. Miller. MIT Press, 2001. Political Institutions: Democracy and Social Choice. By Josep M. Colomer. Oxford University Press, 2001. The Self-Determination of Peoples: Community, Nation, and State in an Interdependent World. Edited by Wolfgang Danspeckgruber. Lynne Rienner, 2002. The Ship of State: Statecraft and Politics from Ancient Greece to Democratic America. By Norma Thompson. Yale University Press, 2001. Tocqueville Between Two Worlds: The Making of a Political and Theoretical Life. By Sheldon S. Wolin. Princeton University Press, 2001. |
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