1 Building a Worldwide Movement for Democracy: The Role of Nongovernmental Organizations

By Carl Gershman President, The National Endowment for Democracy

The National Endowment for Democracy [NED] supports hundreds of groups throughout the world that are engaged in !irtually all of the areas of wor" that contri#ute to the promotion of democracy, says Carl Gershman, President of the NED since $%&'( The Endowment is a pri!ate, nonprofit organi)ation created in $%&* to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongo!ernmental efforts( The Endowment is go!erned #y an independent, nonpartisan #oard of directors( +ith its annual congressional appropriation, it ma"es hundreds of grants each year to support pro,democracy groups in -frica, -sia, Central and Eastern Europe, .atin -merica, the /iddle East, and the former 0o!iet 1nion(

In recent years, it has

ecome fashiona le to emoan the set ac!s to the "rocess of democratization, the "ersistence of dictatorial regimes in the world, and the growing strength of anti#democratic ideologies and "olitical movements, most "rominent among them eing $slamic radicalism% But this new "essimism overloo!s an e&tremely significant, if also une&"ected, develo"ment that contains a ho"eful message a out the state of democratization in the world and the "ossi ilities for further "rogress in the years ahead% 'i!e the dog that did not ar! in the (herloc! )olmes mystery, this une&"ected develo"ment is not something that has ha""ened, ut rather something that has not ha""ened ## namely the a sence of a *reverse wave* of authoritarian resurgence following what the "olitical scientist (amuel )untington du ed democracy+s *third wave%* The third wave refers to the two decades of glo al democratic e&"ansion that followed the ,ortuguese revolution in -./0, a "eriod when the num er of democracies in the world increased e&"onentially, from 0- to anywhere from /1 to --/, de"ending on how one counts% 2fter each of the "receding two waves of democratic e&"ansion, the first starting with the 2merican Revolution and running through World War $, and the second following World War $$, democracy suffered a significant retreat% The first retreat occurred during the -.34s and -.54s with the rise of fascism and communism, and the second came during the -.14s and early -./4s when fragile new democracies in 2frica and 'atin 2merica succum ed to "arty and military dictatorshi"s% (omething similar was su""osed to have ha""ened over the last decade in the wa!e of the third wave, ut it didn+t% 'arry Diamond, relying u"on data com"iled y 6reedom )ouse in its annual 6reedom in the World survey, has written that *only -0 of the -37 democracies that have e&isted during the third wave have ecome authoritarian, and in nine of these, democracy has since een restored%* The "icture is not all right, since "rogress toward

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democracy has stalled in many "ost#authoritarian countries, leading scholars to s"ea! of the emergence of hy rid or semi#authoritarian regimes that com ine illi eral features, such as a dominant e&ecutive authority that largely controls the media and the 8udiciary, with democratic 9or "seudo# democratic: elections% But a standoff is a far cry from a roll# ac!, and the fact that so many emerging democracies have not colla"sed es"ea!s a new reality that ears the seeds of ho"e% ;ertainly one factor that accounts for the resilience of democracy today is the a sence of an antidemocratic ideology with universal as"irations, as communism and fascism were in the "ast, that offers a rival alternative to democratic universalism% But there is an even more im"ortant factor, one that animates the "rinci"le of democratic universalism in the everyday life of "eo"le around the world and, y so doing, also validates its authenticity% This factor is the "resence in every culture and region of the world where democracy is wea! or none&istent of grassroots democratic movements com"osed of ordinary "eo"le who are struggling and sacrificing, often at great ris! to their own safety, to uild societies that res"ect the right of all "eo"le to life, li erty, and the "ursuit of ha""iness% (uch movements re"resent a new agent of change in the world, and also a "owerful "ressure against the return of dictatorshi"% <ust a =uarter of a century ago they hardly e&isted at all, e&ce"t for small enclaves of dissidents in communist countries or isolated *third world democrats* who defied the conventional wisdom in their insistence that develo"ing countries needed and could achieve democracy% But y the -.>4s the (olidarity movement had emerged in ,oland, and throughout ;entral ?uro"e and even in the (oviet @nion inde"endent cultural and media grou"s started s"ringing u", along with grou"s "ressing for human and minority rights% 2s the third wave gathered momentum, a wide variety of civic and democratic reform grou"s also ecame active in 2sia, 2frica, and 'atin 2merica, among them the National Movement for 6ree ?lections 9N2M6R?': in the ,hili""ines, the $nstitute for a Democratic 2lternative 9$D2(2: in (outh 2frica, the )uman Rights 2ctivists in @ganda, the women+s organization ;onciencia in 2rgentina, Radio Nanduti in ,araguay, the National ;ivic ;rusade in ,anama, and the Movement for 6ree ?lections in ;hile% (uch grou"s soon egan to "roliferate y the hundreds and even thousands% Today these grou"s e&ist throughout ?ast and (outh 2sia, 'atin 2merica, 2frica, ;entral ?uro"e, the ?urasian region of the former (oviet @nion, and the Middle ?ast% The National ?ndowment for Democracy alone su""orts hundreds of them engaged in virtually all of the areas of wor! that contri ute to the "romotion of democracy% Many wor! on human rights issues, not 8ust monitoring and investigating violations and alerting the international community to a uses, ut "roviding legal aid, educating the "u lic, and advocating for legislative and institutional reforms% Others focus on educating and involving young "eo"le in the "olitical "rocess, or motivating and em"owering women y training them in the new communications technologies, informing them of their rights, and also "rotecting them against oth domestic violence and socioeconomic discrimination%

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;ivic education is a large area of wor!, oth in the formal school system and in the community, as are conflict resolution and "eace education, es"ecially in dee"ly divided societies% The "romotion of inde"endent media is also a "riority, involving everything from sustaining inde"endent "u lications and radios to training grou"s in the use of des!to" "u lishing, connecting them to the $nternet, training investigative re"orters and also develo"ing su""ort systems to "rotect them from intimidation and violence% ,olitical "arty develo"ment is a critically im"ortant area of wor!, as are election monitoring y trained domestic o servers and get#out#the#vote drives% There are thin! tan!s and usiness grou"s that encourage good cor"orate governance, fight corru"tion, and aid the develo"ment of a legislative and "olitical environment that will encourage economic investment and growth% 2nd there are also trade unions that defend the rights of wor!ers and give them a voice in sha"ing the governmental and international financial "olicies that affect their well# eing% There are grou"s that wor! to strengthen local government and to ma!e government accounta le at all levelsA while others train civilians in issues of national defense to ena le them to monitor security "olicy and discourage the involvement of the military in "olitics% This y no means e&hausts the areas of wor! or ty"es of activities carried out y nongovernmental organizations 9NBOs: throughout the world% $t is es"ecially im"ortant to note that these activities are develo"ed and initiated y the grou"s themselves and are therefore tailored to address the s"ecific "ro lems in each country and local situation% Thus, in countries ruled y dictatorshi"s, the "rograms focus on defending human rights and "romoting the free flow of information, which are the most relevant and feasi le !inds of activities in closed systems% $n semi#authoritarian countries, "rograms tend to focus on defending the "olitical s"ace availa le to inde"endent NBOs and media, em"owering civil society and lin!ing it more closely to democratic "olitical grou"s and "arties, there y develo"ing a more united o""osition as a counterweight to the dominant state% $n emerging democracies the em"hasis is on fighting corru"tion, monitoring the "erformance of "u lic officials and ma!ing government accounta le to the society, and strengthening the rule of law% 2nd in war#torn and "ost#conflict societies, NBOs focus on cur ing violence, fostering reconciliation, and uilding a culture of tolerance and res"ect for "luralism and minority rights% $n Muslim countries in the Middle ?ast and other regions, many "rograms focus on "romoting women+s rights and li eral ideas that reconcile $slam with modern conce"ts of "luralism, citizenshi", and democracy% 2s this vast constellation of NBOs has develo"ed over the "ast decade#and# a#half, a corres"onding system of donor and su""ort agencies has come into eing in the esta lished democracies% Bovernment develo"ment agencies now "rovide democracy assistance, as do em assies and even foreign ministries% Multilateral agencies have also ecome involved, including the @nited Nations Develo"ment ,rogram and other "arts of the @%N% system, as well as regional odies such as the Organization of 2merican (tates, the ?uro"ean @nion, and the Organization for (ecurity and ;oo"eration in ?uro"e% These governmental and multilateral agencies wor! "rimarily on issues of governmental reform, though they also "rovide hel" to NBOs% But

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governments often find it difficult to su""ort inde"endent NBOs, so this function is increasingly eing "erformed y a growing array of "u licly funded democracy and "arty foundations li!e the N?D and its four core institutes, which re"resent the two ma8or @%(% "olitical "arties, the trade union movement and the usiness community% (uch foundations now e&ist in most ?uro"ean countries and in ;anada, and the first 2sian foundation has 8ust een esta lished in Taiwan% $n addition, there are many "rivately funded foundations that "lay an im"ortant role in this field, es"ecially the 6ord 6oundation and the foundations esta lished y the "hilanthro"ist Beorge (oros% The growth of democracy organizations in the "ost#communist and develo"ing countries and of su""ort agencies in the esta lished democracies is an entirely new feature of the architecture of contem"orary "olitics% $t is still too early to 8udge the im"act of these new structures of coo"eration, though it is "ro a ly safe to say that they have increased the democratic "ressure from elow on governments in oth authoritarian and "ost#authoritarian societies, there y forcing reforms that might not have otherwise een im"lemented and also restraining governments from ta!ing regressive measures% But much more needs to e done, in "articular in two road areas% 6irst, the esta lished democracies must find new ways to e&ercise their collective weight in all as"ects of democracy "romotion, from develo"ing coordinated strategies to influence the ehavior of recalcitrant and corru"t governments to defending and em"owering grou"s wor!ing nonviolently for democratic change% The ;ommunity of Democracies 9;D: offers a new forum where such strategies can e develo"ed, though it remains at a nascent stage% (econd, the nongovernmental grou"s themselves must strengthen their ca"acity to networ! and aid each other, share e&"erience, defend those who face "ersecution and danger, and forge a dee"er sense of common "ur"ose regionally and internationally% )ere, too, there is a new glo al initiative, the World Movement for Democracy 9WMD:, which is only eginning to develo" its structures and "otential% Ta!en together, the ;D and the WMD can e mutually reinforcing, creating the governmental "ressures from a ove and the nongovernmental "ressures elow that will hel" new democracies consolidate their institutions and also stimulate further democratic gains% Whether this will lead to a fourth wave of democratization is anyone+s guess, ut even "rogress short of that will ma!e the world a much safer and more "eaceful "lace% The opinions e2pressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the !iews or policies of the 1(0( go!ernment(