Democracy Promotion - Key Actors

Key Actors

Whilst support for human rights and the provision of disaster relief programmes have been around for many years, the trend of including support for democracy in international aid programmes is more recent. The United States Agency for International Development became the first major bilateral donor to include democracy as part of its portfolio when it launched its Democracy Initiative in 1990.

Some of the most important government bodies active in this field are the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK's Department for International Development(DFID) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The European Commission also has a number of instruments that support democratic governance beyond its borders, at the core of which lies the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), administered by the EUROPEAID Directorate General . The United Nations Development Program has an extensive program of work on Democratic Governance. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) has adopted the democracy and development relationship as one of its major sectoral focuses.

The debate over the existence of a demonstrable link between democracy and development remains inconclusive: in other words, does democracy encourage the economic or social development of a country, or vice versa?

This difference in focus can be seen in the reasons given by the government bodies mentioned above for their support for democracy abroad. Consider first the USAID approach:

The process of governing is most legitimate when it is infused with democratic principles such as transparency, pluralism, citizen involvement in decision-making, representation, and accountability. Citizens lose confidence in a government that is unable to deliver basic service; therefore, the degree to which a government is able to carry out its functions at any level is often a key determinant of a country’s ability to sustain democratic reform. USAID is particularly concerned with democratic governance—that is, the political dimensions of the public management process.

The UK's DFID is readier to assert the link between democracy and development. In a report published under the title 'Making Democracy Work for the Elimination of Poverty', DFID asserts that 'democracy gives poor people an opportunity to improve their lot.' Similarly, Swedish SIDA states that, 'poverty is not just about a lack of food, water or a roof over your head. Being poor also implies suffering from a lack of power and choice.'

This work is supported by numerous national and international civil society organisations (CSOs), NGOs and think tanks, either on the ground in countries receiving donor aid, or in national capitals lobbying for more support to be given for democracy promotion. Some of the most prolific American CSOs include the National Endowment for Democracy, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the International Republican Institute and Freedom House. The Westminster Foundation for Democracy, the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy and long-established German political foundations such as the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, among others, are building capacity in Europe. A number of such CSOs co-ordinate their activities at a EU level under umbrella organisations such as the European Network of Political Foundations (ENoP) and the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD)