June 30. Losing Trust: Understanding Popular Disaffection with India’s Politicians featuring Dr. Ronojoy Sen, Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow; moderated by Dr. Marc Plattner, National Endowment for Democracy.
12:00 noon–2:00 p.m. (Lunch served 12:00–12:30 p.m.) National Endowment for Democracy, 1025 F. Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20004. Telephone: 202-378-9675 RSVP (acceptances only) with name and affiliation to fellowsrsvp@ned.org
In May 2009, 417 million Indians voted back into government a coalition led by the Congress party. These elections were the world’s largest-ever democratic exercise, and India remains one of the most successful examples of a post-colonial functioning democracy with regular and free elections. Paradoxically, though, the reputation of political parties and elected legislators in India continues to decline. While there is overwhelming public support for democracy in India, and voter turnout is higher than in most Western democracies—over 58 percent of the electorate voted in the recent national elections—voters appear to have dangerously low levels of trust in political parties and politicians. In his presentation, Dr. Ronojoy Sen will attempt to explain this paradox by examining the composition and functioning of the Indian Parliament, the process of candidate selection by political parties, and the substance and application of campaign finance laws.
Dr. Ronojoy Sen is a journalist with The Times of India, the largest and most widely read English-language daily newspaper in India. His book, tentatively titled Articles of Faith, is scheduled to be published by Oxford University Press in 2009. Dr. Marc Plattner is director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies, co-editor of the Journal of Democracy, and vice president for Research and Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy.
June 30, 2009. The Iranian Presidential Elections: What Do They Tell Us? Robin Wright, Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center; Farideh Farhi, Independent Scholar and Affiliate Graduate Faculty, Political Science, University of Hawai’i at Manoa; Fariborz Ghadar, Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Emile Hokayem, Political Editor, The National, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 5th Floor Conference Room, 12:00 – 2:00pm.
RSVP to mep@wilsoncenter.org or fax 202-691-4184
June 30, 2009. Populism, Islamism and “Indigenismo,” vs. Democracy in Latin America
A panel will discuss issues facing Latin American politics, particularly the growing influence of Russia, Iran and China on the region’s politics. Gustavo de Arístegui will give the keynote address, and there will also be comments by Hillel Fradkin and Douglas Farah. Betsy and Walter Stern Conference Center, Hudson Institute, 1015 Fifteenth Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005. From 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. To RSVP, please email isaratsis@hudson.org.
July 1, 2009. Combating a Hidden Evil: The Fight Against Human Trafficking in Russia, featuring Ekaterina Osipova, Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow, with comments by Tatyana Volchetskaya, Immanuil Kant State University of Russia, Kaliningrad. Organized by the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. 12:00–2:00 p.m.
(Lunch served 12:00–12:20 p.m.) Venue: National Endowment for Democracy, 1025 F Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004. Tel.: 202-378-9681. RSVP (acceptances only) with name and affiliation to fellowsrsvp@ned.org.
In the criminal world of human trafficking, Russia holds the dubious distinction of serving simultaneously as a country of origin, transit, and destination of trafficked individuals. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, formerly closed borders became porous as the newly independent states grappled with market reforms and faced social, political, and economic upheaval. In her presentation, Dr. Ekaterina Osipova will draw on her experience researching human trafficking in her native city of Kaliningrad and offer concrete recommendations for improving the prevention and prosecution of this hidden evil in Russia.
Dr. Ekaterina Osipova is an associate professor in the department of criminal procedure, criminalistics, and legal informatics at Immanuil Kant State University of Russia. During her fellowship, Dr. Osipova is working on an article concerning best practices for combating human trafficking in Russia and the United States. A leading specialist studying human trafficking in the former Soviet Union, Professor Tatyana Volchetskaya is chair of the department of criminal procedure, criminalistics, and legal informatics at Immanuil Kant State University in Kaliningrad, Russia.
July 13, 2009. Building Democracy in Resource-Rich Countries: The Case of Chad’s Oil Exploitation, featuring Dr. Gilbert Maoundonodji, Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow, with comments by Dr. Joseph Siegle, National Defense University. Organized by the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. 12 noon–2:00 p.m. (Lunch served 12:00–12:30 p.m.) Venue: National Endowment for Democracy, 1025 F. Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20004. Telephone: 202-378-9675 RSVP (acceptances only) with name and affiliation by Thursday, July 9
by email to fellowsrsvp@ned.org
What effect does the exploitation of oil have on democracy? This question is hotly debated among scholars who examine the relationship between the presence of oil and the type of political system in resource-rich countries. Some argue that oil “impedes democracy;” others assert that oil “lubricates democracy.” Still others contend that oil does not necessarily have a “consistently negative” influence; rather, the outcome largely depends on internal and external factors present at the time of oil discovery. In his presentation, Dr. Gilbert Maoundonodji, scholar and Chadian human rights activist, will assess these arguments by referring to the two prevailing theoretical frameworks that apply to the question of oil and democracy: the resource curse thesis and the rentier state thesis.
Dr. Gilbert Maoundonodji is coordinator of the Group for Alternative Research and Monitoring of the Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Project (GRAMP/TC), a think tank in N’Djamena, Chad. Dr. Joseph Siegle is the director of research for the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University and a senior research scholar with the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland.
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