October 8, 2008

An Analysis of the Media Environment in the Middle East and North Africa

In advance of IREX’s second Media Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa, CIMA and NED’s MENA Program hosted a discussion on the region’s media environment. Read more about this event.
September 22, 2008

The State of Democracy in Latin America

In celebration of the Journal of Democracy''s new book on Latin America''s Struggle for Democracy, the International Forum hosted a panel discussion and reception to discuss trends in Latin America and their implications for the future of democracy in the region. Two of the book''s contributors, Cynthia McClintock and Arturo Valenzuela, and the editors, Marc F. Plattner, Larry Diamond, and Diego Abente, made remarks at the event. Ecuadorian Political Sociologist Carlos de la Torre offered comments.
September 19, 2008

Promoting Democracy in the Arab World: New Ideas for U.S. Policy

Mr. Atef Al-Saadawy discusses his research on U.S. approaches toward democratization in the Arab World. Larry Diamond (International Forum for Democratic Studies) and Michele Dunne (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) provide commentary.

September 17, 2008

The State of the Media in Indonesia: Ten Years after Soeharto

NED’s CIMA and Asia Program hosted an afternoon presentation analyzing the media landscape in Indonesia, including new regulations for  broadcast media, the latest defamation case against Tempo, and rising violence toward journalists. Read more about this event.
September 11, 2008

Memorial Gathering in Honor of Bronislaw Geremek

NED and the Embassy of Poland together hosted a memorial gathering honoring the life and work of Bronislaw Geremek, whose life was tragically cut short when he died in a car accident on July 13. 

Read more about this event.

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September 5, 2008

Technology for Women’s Rights Advocacy and Democracy Building

Women democracy activists from four countries discuss the ways and means by which organizations are using information and communication technologies for civic activism, including reform of discriminatory legislation. Lina Abou Habib is Executive Director of Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action; Rakhee Goyal is Executive Director of Women’s Learning Partnership; Asma Khader is General Coordinator of Sisterhood  is Global Institute/Jordan and a former Cabinet Minister; Sakena Yacoobi is Executive Director of Afghan Institute of Learning.

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July 23, 2008

Providing Incentives for Good Governance in Peru

Beatriz Boza, founder and executive director of Ciudadanos al D?a (CAD), led this discussion on fostering a culture of good governance in Peru. CAD has developed a unique strategy that seeks to stimulate an informed, demanding and engaged citizenry, while simultaneously assessing and benchmarking the performance of the public sector.

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July 21, 2008

Islamist Parties and Democracy

Based on a symposium appearing in the July 2008 Journal of Democracy, NED’s International Forum for Democratic Studies held a discussion on July 21 featuring JOD authors Hillel Fradkin (Hudson Institute), Laith Kubba (National Endowment for Democracy), Amr Hamzawy (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), and Tamara Cofman Wittes (Brookings Institution) that examined how the longstanding debate surrounding Islam and democracy is increasingly shifting its focus from theoretical issues to more immediate policy concerns and assessing the implications of the rise of Islamist parties for the future of democracy in the Middle East.

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July 17, 2008
 

Why Is Pakistan Not a Democracy?
 

Mr. Akbar Zaidi examines the domestic and international influences that help and hinder Pakistan’s move to becoming a democratic country. Dr. Stephen P. Cohen provides comments.

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July 15, 2008

Empowering Independent Media: U.S. Efforts to Foster Free and Independent News Around the World

On July 15, 2008, CIMA launched its inaugural report Empowering Independent Media: U.S. Efforts to Foster Free and Independent News Around the World, which provides an in-depth assessment of media development efforts funded by the U.S. government and U.S.-based private donors. To read more and view the video of this event, go to http://cima.ned.org/events.

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July 15, 2008
 

Economic Aid to the DPRK: the Human Rights Dimension

Mr. David Hawk examines the economic dimensions and incentives of the current negotiations with the DPRK and explores how human rights can be brought into the conversation. Dr. Marcus Noland and Dr. Nicolas Eberstadt offer comments.

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July 10, 2008
 

A New Liberia: Educating for Democracy as a Way of Life

Mr. Eddie Jarwolo discusses how the government and civil society can—and must—empower ordinary citizens with the values, knowledge, and skills necessary to foster and sustain Liberia’s emerging democracy. Mr. Dave Peterson comments.

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June 26, 2008

Fighting Impunity:  High Stakes in the East and Horn of Africa

Featuring Hassan Shire Sheikh, chairman of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, this roundtable discussion addressed the human rights situation in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. Ways to establish independent accountability mechanisms and institutions were also considered.

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June 25, 2008

Torture, Justice, and Democracy: Myths and Misconceptions

Ms. Alice Verghese uses insights from Sri Lanka and the Philippines to illustrate the consequences of torture at an individual, societal, and national level. Commentators Dr. Allen Keller and Mr. Victor Madrigal-Borloz discuss the medical and legal aspects of torture.

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June 19, 2008

China’s Great Leap: The Beijing Games and Olympian Human Rights Challenges

What human rights promises did Beijing make to host the 2008 Olympics? Will there be durable human rights reforms as a result of the Games? Cosponsored by NED and Human Rights Watch, this panel discussion marked the publication of China’s Great Leap: The Beijing Games and Olympic Human Rights Challenges, edited by Minky Worden, Media Director for Human Rights Watch.  Three of the books contributing authors, Sharon Hom, Han Dongfang and Sophie Richardson joined Worden in the conversation. 

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June 18, 2008
 

Towards Police Reform in Nigeria: The Role of Civil Society

Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma discusses the history of policy brutality in Nigeria and the need to take serious steps toward reform, including the decentralization of the police force and a more rigorous, transparent, and credible approach to screening and training recruits. Ms. Oge Okoye comments.

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June 12, 2008

An Analysis of the Media Environment in Africa: The Launch of IREX’s Inaugural Media Sustainability Index Africa, 2006-2007.
 

In this presentation, Leon Morse, IREX’s project manager for the MSI Africa; Mark Nelson, program leader for governance diagnostics work at the World Bank Institute, which provided partial support for the MSI; Collins Wagumba, an audio visual producer and lecturer at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communications and a recent Humphrey Fellow at the University of Maryland; and Robert Daguillard, head of the Central Africa Service at the Voice of America, discussed the findings of the index and prospects for independent media development in sub-Saharan Africa. Dave Peterson, senior director of the Africa Program at NED, moderated the event.

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June 5, 2008

The Missing British Dream? A Fractured Democracy Faces Muslim Discontent

Dr. Tom Gallagher discusses current challenges to British identity and identified initiatives to counter religious radicalism and deepen social integration on the part of British Muslims. Dr. Robert S. Leiken comments.

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June 4, 2008

State-Building versus Democracy in Georgia: Origins and Outcomes of the Rose Revolution

Dr. Giorgi Areshidze discusses the origins and outcomes of Georgia''s Rose Revolution, as well as the current status of democracy and state building in the country. Dr. Miriam Lanskoy comments.

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June 2, 2008

After the Orange Revolution: Changes in the Media Landscape in Ukraine

In this presentation, Natalia Ligacheva, editor of Telekritika, a NED-supported, Web-based media watchdog and online news site, Myroslava Gongadze, correspondent at the Voice of America, and Nadia Diuk, director of NED’s Europe and Eurasia Program, spoke about the current state of the media in Ukraine. The discussion was co-sponsored by Internews Network. Read more about the event.

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May 29, 2008

Why Play by the Rules? Constitutionalism and Democracy in Ecuador and Uruguay

Dr. Susan Alberts discusses how democratic survival depends on powerful actors'' adherence to basic democratic rules and procedures. Dr. Diego Abente comments.

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May 27, 2008

News Literacy: Its Importance and Trends Internationally

This roundtable discussion on news literacy featured three speakers: Ann C. Olson, media consultant and author of the CIMA report The Role of Media-support Organizations and Public Literacy in Strengthening Independent Media Worldwide; Paul Mihailidis, director of Media Education Initiatives at the University of Maryland’s International Center for Media and the Public Agenda and curriculum director at the Salzburg Seminar’s program on Media and Global Change; and Alan C. Miller, executive director of Appleseed: The News Literacy Project. The discussion focused on the importance of news literacy in creating an informed citizenry, both globally and domestically, and of educating the public to become smarter and better consumers of news.

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May 22, 2008

The End of Colorado Rule: Will Paraguay Crumble or Flourish?

On April 28, former Bishop Fernando Lugo soundly defeated the ruling Colorado Party in historic presidential elections in Paraguay. After over six decades of one-party rule, including 35 years of dictatorship under General Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguay is faced with momentous change as President-elect Lugo prepares to take office. Among the issues he will have to address are the legacy of the authoritarian regime, high levels of impunity and corruption, widespread patronage and clientelism, glaring social and economic inequalities, and limited citizen participation. In their presentations, Dr. Diego Abente and Dr. Miguel Carter examined the challenges facing the new government as well as the meaning of these elections in the larger Latin American context. They examined conflicting perceptions of the difficulties and opportunities facing Paraguay as it enters an uncharted historical phase. Their presentations were followed by comments by Dr. Frank Mora.

Dr. Diego Abente is the deputy director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the NED. Dr. Abente previously served as a professor of sociology and politics at the Catholic University of Paraguay, and as a Paraguayan senator, ambassador to the OAS, Minister of Justice and Labor, and a senior advisor to the Minister of Finance. Dr. Miguel Carter is a professor at the School of International Service at American University and has written extensively on Paraguayan politics and society. Dr. Frank Mora is a professor of national security strategy at the National War College and has published over two dozen academic journal articles and book chapters on a diverse set of topics on Latin America. 

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May 15, 2008

Liberalization and Authoritarianism in Contemporary China: From the Growth of Grassroots Liberty to Nationalist Furor over Tibet
 

Dr. Kate Zhou discusses the complex dynamics of emerging individual freedoms and civil society in China. Ms. Louisa Coan Greve comments.

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May 5, 2008

Pakistan: Advancing Democracy and Security

This event featured a luncheon address by John D. Negroponte, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State. During just over 60 years of independence, Pakistan has averaged a military coup each decade. Intervals of elected, civilian government have all ended in failure, with the soldiers back in power. Many fear that this opportunity will be lost – especially given the sharpness of the security challenge – and that the old cycle of periodic coups will soon return. This meeting asked whether and how this could change.