Confronting the Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century

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Strategies for Civil Society, NGOs, Parties, and Other Actors to Promote Democracy in Semi-Authoritarian Countries

• formal democratic structures, but authoritarian political culture and practices;
• elections, but with severe flaws;
• residual authoritarian laws, even when there is a new democratic constitution;
• executive dominance or presidentialism.
  

• Limitations on the constitutional, legal, and political space for civil society, NGOs, and opposition political party activism.
• Serious resource constraints.
• Donor and international community ambiguity towards semi-authoritarian governments and domestic oppositions, civil society, and NGOs.
• Executive arrogance and impunity.

• Engage constructively with the semi-authoritarian government, or at least branches of the government and constitutional bodies, through a combination of pressure (for instance, street demonstrations) and persuasion (collaboration and cooperation).
• Establish linkages and collaboration between civil society, NGOs, and political parties, on the one hand, and the media, especially independent media, on the other.
• Build alliances between NGOs and civil society, on the one hand, and artists, writers, and popular figures and society icons, on the other.
• Work to expand the constitutional, legal, and political space for democratic activism and development.
• Work on concrete institutional reforms (for example, establishing or strengthening an independent electoral commission).
• Engage in public interest litigation to promote respect for human rights, official accountability, and other democratic goals.
• Pursue networking among pro-democratic NGOs, civil society groups, and political parties, while insisting on shared values as the basis for cooperation and collaboration.
• Develop linkages between leading NGOs and civil society organizations, on the one hand, and grassroots, informal sector, and weaker counterparts, on the other.
• Build networks and coalitions at the local, regional, and international levels.
• Make networks independent and open to make them stronger and more resistant to infiltration and cooptation by government.
• International democratic activists should visit local semi-authoritarian situations to gather factual evidence and provide solidarity with beleaguered NGOs, civil society, and opposition groups.
• Target multi-national corporations and other external economic interests (such as oil companies and mining firms) that benefit from authoritarian rule.
• Pressure government to comply with international commitments and obligations to democracy and relevant international conventions.
• Use the tools of the Internet for advocacy and information sharing.