Global Democracy Promotion: Seven Lessons For The New Administration
Global Democracy Promotion: Seven Lessons For The New Administration
Global Democracy Promotion: Seven Lessons For The New Administration
Global Democracy
Promotion: Seven Lessons
for the New
Administration
E lections must be
successfully, laying a solid foundation for
representative government in the region. The
part of a more Frost-Solomon Task Force offered the experi-
sophisticated ence of Congress as a guiding light on this path.
For the last three years, Rep. David Dreier
strategy (R-CA) and I have led a similar effort with the
supporting House Democracy Assistance Commission
democratic (HDAC), the institutional descendant of the
Frost-Solomon Task Force. The bipartisan
development. commission of 20 House members has sought
to strengthen the institutional capacities of
partner legislatures in Afghanistan, Colombia,
Georgia, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Mongolia,
Timor-Leste, and Ukraine. HDAC has worked with parliamentary colleagues
and their staffs in all these countries on nearly every aspect of legislative
governance, from budgetary analysis and committee oversight to personnel
management and constituent relations. Implementation of the programs has
occurred through close collaboration with U.S. embassies around the world, as
well as democracy programs administered by the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) and executed by experienced organizations such as the
National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Republican Institute
(IRI), the Research Triangle Institute (RTI), and the Asia Foundation. As a
result, HDAC has been in a unique position to witness both the successes and
failures of U.S. efforts to promote democracy worldwide.
HDAC’s founding premise is that democracy is not just about elections* /
The United States must no longer repeat mistakes that have poorly served the
nation’s long-term interests and have often underperformed in abetting short-
term objectives. Admittedly, U.S. commitment to democracy abroad cannot
always be absolute*after all, the United States is a nation with a complex and
/
extensive agenda on the international stage. Yet, it is imperative that the United
States be far less ready to sacrifice the democracy agenda for other goals.
Supporting the growth of democracy extends beyond supporting democratic
reforms and pressing non-democratic leaders. It must also include the difficult,
sustained work of building and supporting democratic institutions. With that
aim in mind, this article offers seven practical lessons for the consideration of the
new president and his administration.
T he priority
Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding
has been spent in Africa.6 Likewise, while the
should be to Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)
support nations was initially criticized for failing to put down
roots in Africa, approximately half of the
undertaking or MCC compacts currently active are in African
continuing nations.7 This assistance, however, only un-
transitions to derscores the need for a greater focus on
strengthening democratic institutions. Active,
democracy. effective democratic institutions are needed to
prioritize, manage, and oversee this assistance,
preventing corruption, and ensuring that our
aid achieves the greatest possible impact.
In choosing HDAC partners, we have considered the strategic importance of
candidate countries and their level of need, but we have paid particular attention
to the parliaments’ commitment to reform and interest in a partnership. The
crucial question that U.S. policymakers need to ask themselves is: where is the
support the U.S. has to offer most likely to be well-utilized and to have the
greatest marginal impact? While this is not a complete guide for the allocation of
democracy promotion efforts, it contains important positive lessons. The priority
should be to support nations that are undertaking or continuing a transition to
democracy, rather than cases which may have more immediate strategic
significance but for which a transition to democracy is still wishful thinking.
In fact, a clear distinction between cooperation*or working to support the
/
Conclusion
extend beyond capital cities and embassy compounds. As the foreign aid
apparatus is reformed, we must find ways to ensure that the benefits of U.S.
generosity and power serve as examples and penetrate deeply and broadly. The
democracy agenda, too, will be enhanced by increased engagement at the
grassroots level, which of course is where the heart of democracy truly lies.
Finally, the U.S. agenda for global engagement needs to rediscover a sense of
moral and political humility. U.S. foreign policies must be open to new insights
and interpretations. This is particularly true when it comes to the work of
Notes
1. Office of the Press Secretary, The White House, ‘‘President Sworn-In To Second
Term,’’ January 20, 2005, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050120-1.
html.
2. Nathan J. Brown, Amr Hamzawy, and Marina Ottaway, ‘‘Islamist Movements and The
Democratic Process In The Arab World,’’ Carnegie Paper No. 67 (Washington D.C.:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 2006).
3. Ibid.
4. Dinorah Azpuru, Steven E. Finkel, Anibal PLrez-LiMþn, and Mitchell A. Seligson,
‘‘Trends in Democracy Assistance: What Has the United States Been Doing?’’ Journal
of Democracy 19, no. 2 (April 2008): 150/59.
5. The top ten recipient nations of ‘‘Governing Justly and Democratically’’ funding in
FY 2009 budget are: Afghanistan ($248.0 million), Iraq ($198.0 million), Sudan
($77.4 million), Iran ($65.0 million), Pakistan ($55.2 million), Egypt ($45.0 million),
Lebanon ($37.0 million), Liberia ($35.9 million), Indonesia ($35.2 million), and Russia
($30.3 million). See, U.S. Agency for International Development, ‘‘Congressional
Budget Justifications: Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2009,’’ http://www.usaid.gov/
policy/budget/cbj2009/).
6. The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, The Power of
Partnerships: Third Annual Report to Congress on PEPFAR (2007), Appendix III,
http://www.pepfar.gov/press/c21604.htm. The estimate is calculated from funding data
for PEPFAR focus countries provided in the report. The report does not provide
country-specific data for other (non-focus country) bilateral assistance provided
through PEPFAR. According to the report, which covers FYs 2004-2006, $3.366
billion of the $3.380 billion in funding provided to focus countries has been spent in
Africa.
7. The Millennium Challenge Corporation has compacts signed or in implementation in
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique,
Namibia, and Tanzania. See, http://www.mcc.gov/countries/index.php.
8. Azpuru et al., ‘‘Trends in Democracy Assistance.’’
9. Pakistani official during a meeting with HDAC delegation to Islamabad, Pakistan, May
27, 2008.
10. D. G. Tendulkar, Mahatma: Life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Vol 3: 1930/34,
(Bombay, India: The Times of India Press, 1961), p. 301.