Civitas Transatlantic Network Rebuilds
The Center for Civic Education and Civitas International organized a workshop on “Citizenship Education in an Expanded European Union” in Brussels, Belgium from January 18-21, 2005. The purpose of the workshop was to explore possibilities for transatlantic cooperation in education for democratic citizenship.

Thirty-one participants from 13 European Union countries and 7 U.S. states shared their experiences in transatlantic partnerships created through the Civitas International Civic Education Exchange Program over the last decade. The Civitas Exchange Program is funded by the Department of Education and aims to improve civic education in the United States and other countries through the exchange of best practices in teaching, training, and curriculum development. Penn Kemble, Senior Associate for the New Economy Information Service, opened the workshop with a speech stressing the importance of cooperation between Europe and the United States for the cause of democracy worldwide. Tony Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer of Cooperation Ireland, delivered a keynote address contrasting and comparing the challenges in the United States and Europe of educating future citizens in democratic values and practices.

The workshop also featured roundtable discussions on topics such as concepts of citizenship, identity, and civic values in Europe and the U.S., essential elements of civic education, and alternative models for implementation of citizenship education. The meeting was attended by guests from the European Commission, Eurydice Research Unit, UNESCO, and the Council of Europe. The final day of the workshop focused on developing a plan for future activities focused on transatlantic cooperation in education for democratic citizenship and the development of a Civitas European Network.

Broader Transatlantic Democracy Promotion Efforts Planned
On January 27th a group of European and North American democracy supporters from 13 countries will convene at the offices of the German Marshall Fund in Brussels to plan a larger meeting to be held later this spring to discuss how more effective transatlantic cooperation in behalf of democracy can be established.

This meeting, funded with a grant from the European Commission, will be organized through cooperation between the US organization Freedom House, the US National Endowment for Democracy, and a number of the European organizations involved in the Transatlantic Democracy Network that sponsor Democracy Digest.

Some Europeans See "Soft Power" as Adequate Tool
"If 'regime change' in Iraq has been a model of what could happen elsewhere, it may be better to live with the tyrants we know,” stated Britain's left-of-center Guardian. It advocated relying “on the transforming power of trade, international law, human rights and free communications to foster freedom and democracy (as Washington did so successfully in Ukraine).” Given the anti-democratizing posture taken by a number of the Guardian's reporters and contributors, the paper's stance is as surprising as it is welcome.

While largely hostile to the Bush inaugural speech, Spain's Left-of-center El Pais, stressed that it was nevertheless “important to come to an understanding of the reforms that international institutions will need to adapt themselves to these new challenges." (Loubna Freih of Human Rights Watch suggests we should start such reform with the UN Human Rights Commission).

Since Washington is now committed to energetic international diplomacy as well as to democracy promotion, some argue that Europe should also take up the challenge. “Why not take part in this desire for change?,” asks Pierre Rousselin, foreign editor of France's center-right Le Figaro. “This is what France has been trying to do lately: 'revitalizing the transatlantic relationship' has become a priority for the Elysee.”

Other observers also depart from the heavily cynical reactions "Bush made one mistake," said French philosopher Andre Glucksmann. "He underestimated the hypocrisy of Europe's politicians, especially the French." "If someone is a misogynist, it's not the woman's fault. Anti-Semitism is not the fault of the Jew. So we can say the same about anti-Americanism," he asserts. "The source of anti-Americanism is in Europe, and it has a long history." "America holds up the mirror that reflects our own fragility," he said. "We prefer to break the mirror rather than confront our reality."

Discovering a New Democratic Transatlanticism?
Glucksmann's compatriot, Bernard Kouchner, the founder of Médecins Sans Frontières, takes a different view. "The most important threat [to the West] is Islamic terrorism" – not simply Islam, he stresses. It is a "fascistic" Islamist minority. "We [the West] have always been allied against fascism since the Second World War," he said. "We have to be together, America and Europe, because our enemies are the same, Muslim extremism and fascism."

Rhetoric? But With Real Consequences:
The Bush speech "brought to a high level the gap between the rhetoric and reality in US foreign policy," according to democracy promotion analyst Thomas Carothers. "The rhetoric is seamless, but the policy is very muddled,” he said, noting that “the war on terrorism has pushed the US to be friendlier with non-democratic regimes."

Others note that such a snapshot approach neglects the profound challenges of generating sustainable democratic change and the generational time span it usually entails, as seen in the struggle against communism. The world's dictators "shouldn't lose sleep immediately," says John Lewis Gaddis of Yale University. "But they should be worrying about what might happen -- not just in the next four years, but over the next quarter-century."

Even some normally quite skeptical observers welcomed the likely impact of the speech. The president's words will “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” argued Fareed Zakaria. “Democratic reformers around the world will surely take heart. Dictators will nervously ponder what it all means.” Carothers accepts that the speech will be "influential" over the long term, drawing parallels with President Ronald Reagan's pro-democracy pronouncements in the early 1980s. "It was useful to people who really wanted to do something on democracy and human rights. They could say, 'But that is the president's policy, remember what he said?' "It gives ammunition to pro-democracy activists, Carothers concedes.

The many commentators who suggested that the speech was no more than standard political rhetoric and that there is likely to be a “realist” resurgence when the difficulties emerge may be in for some surprises. Even some Administration officials who pride themselves in cold-blooded tough-mindedness have found their instincts challenged. "He really believes it," said one official about the President speaking on condition of anonymity. "We weren't sure he believed it the first time he said it.... But the election in Afghanistan was an important moment for him." The issue of global democracy "really is the philosophical argument of the age," Bush recently told the Wall Street Journal.

Writing in Gulf News, Iranian observer Amir Taheri draws comparison with an earlier champion of radical change. “Reagan was, in a sense, swimming against the tide of American opinion…. [and] had to fight for democracy in a dozen countries from South Korea to Nicaragua through covert operations and in the teeth of opposition from the US Congress and media.” By contrast, “Bush has the historic advantage of being in sync with his people.”

“Presidential rhetoric has consequences,” notes Washington-based commentator Robert Kagan. Contrary to his own instincts, Reagan – “propelled by his own publicly stated democratic principles" undermined dictators he had initially considered anti-communist allies. “Bush may be thinking about Iran and some Arab dictatorships, not China,” says Kagan. “But the next time China locks up a dissident, or Vladimir Putin further curtails Russian freedoms, people will remind Bush about his promise that 'America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains.'”

[That day may be soon upon us. Radio Free Asia is reporting that individuals wearing white flowers in mourning for ousted Communist leader Zhao Ziyang, who died recently, are being beaten and harassed by Chinese authorities. Zhao enjoyed a reputation as a reformer and such edgy reactions to any displays of sympathy for him seem to betray a deep political insecurity on the part of authorities.

"Opportunity for Renewal" in Transatlantic Relations
It would be a shame should griping fall-out from President Bush's second inaugural speech crowd out the Atlanticist sentiments expressed by Condoleeza Rice, the incoming Secretary of State, at her Senate confirmation hearing. The first task of the US, she said, was to “unite the community of democracies” in building an international system “based on shared values and the rule of law”; the second to strengthen democracies to fight common threats to security, and the "third great task" was to "spread freedom and democracy."

The US, she said, would stand with “oppressed people on every continent." Listing six "outposts of tyranny" -- Cuba, Burma, North Korea, Iran, Belarus and Zimbabwe – she insisted that "we cannot rest until every person living in a fear society has finally won their freedom." Diplomacy should advance a policy to spread democracy, Ms. Rice said, hinting at a revived but conditional multilateralism. "Alliances and multilateral institutions can multiply the strength of freedom-loving nations. If I am confirmed, that core conviction will guide my actions," she said. "Our interaction with the rest of the world must be a conversation, not a monologue," Rice suggested. "We must use American diplomacy to help create a balance of power in the world that favors freedom. And the time for diplomacy is now."

Employing the words of former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky, Ms. Rice recommended the "town square test" for assessing the nature of regimes. "If a person cannot walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, and physical harm, then that person is living in a fear society. And we cannot rest until every person living in a fear society has finally won their freedom," she said.

The upbeat tone found echoes in Europe. "When we talk about transatlantic co-operation, we really mean it", said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso after meeting US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in Brussels on January 14. For its part, the European Parliament adopted on January 13 a joint resolution on transatlantic relations (by 319 votes in favour, 94 against and 151 abstentions) hoping that President Bush's second term entails a fresh start in EU-US relations. Backing the idea of a transatlantic action group, the chair of the EP Foreign Affairs Committee Elmar Brok (Germany, EPP-ED) said that "despite the obvious turbulence in transatlantic relations over recent years, there are more factors binding us together than driving us apart."

Meanwhile, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU commissioner for foreign affairs, met on January 13 with leading foreign affairs figures in the US administration. Speaking at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, she stressed the "opportunity for renewal" and the "centrality and irreplaceable nature of the transatlantic relationship." The Commissioner said the EU and US should do more to work in parallel on the broader Middle East and Mediterranean region, including the promotion of human rights, democracy, education, and economic modernization.

DAD Welcomed for Potential Activist-Agency Coordination
The G-8's Democracy Assistance Dialogue's potential as a vital link between the Broader Middle East's local pro-democracy activists and their international supporters has been noted by a leading commentator. The DAD “might prove a very useful coordinating institution between Western donor agencies and democracy assistance NGOs on the one hand, and regional democracy activists on the other hand,” writes Tamara Cofman Wittes, Research Fellow at Washington-based Saban Center for Middle East Policy. Furthermore, “the explicit goal of democratic reform, as opposed to merely good governance” should guide Western donors' actions, she suggests, in an important contribution to The International Spectator, publication of the Italian Institute for International Affairs (Istituto Affari Internazionali).

Wittes notes the problems associated with jointly promoting democratic reform in “a Middle Eastern environment where Western (not just US) intentions are suspect” and where G8 states' failure “to commit to robust implementation of their Sea Island commitments may hamper their attempts to play a positive role in the ongoing process of political change” in the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA).

Warning against initiatives that promote “good” governance and ill-defined reform at the expense of genuine democratization, she insists that “complacency in not enforcing the clear relationship between political and economic reform, and the resulting failure of economic liberalisation to succeed in changing Arab citizens' lives will not only undermine the credibility of Western commitments to democratic reform, but may also discredit among Arabs the very notion of reform as an effective answer to the contemporary problems of Arab societies.”

While Arab liberals and civil society remain relatively weak, they are clearly finding their voice. Liberalism has never been a populist ideology, even in the West, but a new generation of pragmatic Arab liberals is emerging in business and the professions to complement the region's traditional liberal intellectuals. Furthermore, moderate Islamists must be engaged if sustainable reform is to be achieved.

Western governments need to match rhetoric with resources. The “paltry sums” devoted to the Middle East Partnership Initiative and the National Endowment for Democracy are “nowhere near to sufficient to establish US credibility, let alone leadership on this issue.” The “necessary investment to produce effective democracy promotion” requires the transatlantic community to overcome its own ambivalence about BMENA reform.

Military and Security Agencies -- the "Last Red Line" for Arab Reform?
Military dominance of Arab societies, manifested in security agencies' control of political and economic institutions is incompatible with genuine reform, argues Lebanese journalist Rami Khouri. Reform of the region's security and military forces is the "last red line" of modern Arab governance, he suggests. A recent meeting in Amman, co-sponsored by the University of Jordan's Center for Strategic Studies and the Geneva-based Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces convened security sector officers, government officials, researchers and civil society activists, to discuss the issue.

“Opportune Moment” for Joint EU-US Engagement on BMENA Reform
Transatlantic cooperation on Middle East democracy promotion has “advanced further than many expected” since the G8 summit at Sea Island launched the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative, according to civil society and government representatives meeting in Brussels recently. “It is clearly desirable to explore ways to enhance transatlantic cooperation” and political developments on both sides of the Atlantic create “an opportune moment” to review progress and plan ahead, concluded the consultation, convened by the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Madrid-based Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE).

The meeting welcomed measures to improve transatlantic communication and coordination, including quarterly meetings between regional representatives to compare notes on the progress of reform and best practices, and joint information gathering at the operational level to identify groups funded by US and EU donors. Arab reform is also emerging as an agenda item at senior EU-US meetings.

The report argues that EU and US should identify shared interests and objectives, particularly the countries and areas where both were willing to press reform. Coordinated messages on elections would help avoid both parties being “played off against one another” (as in the recent Tunisian elections). “Messages should be delivered separately, but reflect similar content and tone,” as in the recent Palestinian elections.

Noting “significant transatlantic interest on the potential role of positive conditionality in promoting democratic reform, participants suggested that more creative “carrots” or positive incentives to induce reform could include increased market access as well as increases in aid. But benchmarks” for measuring success should be jointly identified and agreed so that positive conditionality could be synchronized. Some commentators have been notably skeptical of the benefits of transatlantic cooperation in the region, even cautioning against active collaboration. Yet while recognizing the problem of the United States' current “credibility gap” in the region, the (mostly European) participants recognized that Europe also faces the challenge of internal coordination. Too often, individual member states pursue their particular interests and make declarations “which undermine shared EU and US goals.”

US-EU Consensus on Objectives for BMENA
The United States and the European Union share basic objectives in the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA), but differ on approaches required to secure those goals, says Scott Carpenter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. He rejected as exaggerated the speculation about continued transatlantic rifts, stressing that the US and EU had "found common ground" on key issues in the broader Middle East.

"We both want to see stability in Iraq; a lasting solution to the Palestinian and Israeli problem; political and economic reform in the Middle East; and to limit the spread of weapons of mass destruction," Carpenter said this week. The US and EU “have common objectives, but slightly different approaches on how to achieve those objectives” and will continue collaboration to defeat terrorism and help promote democracy in the Middle East.

Turkey's EU Bid a Model for Islamic World, says EU Commissioner
Turkey's bid to join the European Union is an example for the Islamic world, European Union justice commissioner Franco Frattini said this week, highlighting the 25-nation bloc's responsibility to support modernizing Islamic tendencies.

"We have the duty to stimulate forces in the Islamic world that want to modernize their institutions, but do not accept a model imposed in a paternalistic way."

EU leaders have set October 3, 2005 as the start date for negotiations with Turkey on its eventual accession to the EU. The Euro-Mediterranean partnership, or Barcelona Process, launched 10 years ago “did not meet expectations and we need to relaunch this process," Frattini conceded. The former Italian foreign minister was in Rome for meetings on Euro-Mediterranean dialogue sponsored by the Mediterranean Forum, which he leads.

The Euro-Mediterranean partnership began in 1995 in an effort to foster cooperation between the European Union and its 12 Mediterranean-basin neighbours. The partnership includes the 25-nation EU, plus Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. Spain will host the 10th anniversary Euro-Mediterranean summit next November in Barcelona. [Blair]

Arab Journalists Reject Regime Interference
The adverse reaction to demands for democratization was perhaps predictable. At a major regional conference in Abu Dhabi this month, the region's leading journalists demanded that the region's regimes permit greater balance and independence in the media, accusing Arab governments of abusive control. Journalists voiced their complaints in the closing session of a conference on "Arab Media in the Information Age," organized by the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research.

“If we compare the conditions of our societies with those of Western societies, we often cannot claim that we have democracy or democrats or elected government,” said Ahmed Abdul Aziz Al Jarallah, editor of Kuwait's As Siyassah newspaper. “Democracy in the Arab world is still nominal only. Freedom is very limited and most Arab governments have come to power in other ways than general elections."

Hazim Saghiya, editor of the London-based Al Hayyat, said that political control has deterred investment in a free press while the decline of the middle classes has deprived the press of the ability to survive and influence public opinion. Egypt has 120 newspapers but circulation is lower than in the 1960's.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Karzai Prays Iraqis Will Follow Afghan Example
Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged the people of Iraq to embrace democracy in the polls due on January 30 in a statement issued Monday. "The Iraqi people must not fear terrorists. Instead, they should make their elections a success with bravery and courage," he said. Millions of Afghans defied threats to go to the polls in the country's first free elections on October 9 last year. "Our Iraqi brothers and sisters should go to the ballot and play their role in determining their country's destiny."

EU Awards 27m Euros to Yemen
The European Union has granted Yemen 27 million euros (US$34m) to implement a range of development programs, including education, health, rural development, democracy, and elections. Javier Solana, the EU's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, praised Yemen efforts in the field of democracy practice which was appreciated by the EU and the international community.

Leading Human Rights Activist Urges Damascus to Stop Farce of Trial
Syria's leading human rights activist, the recent winner of an international award, called on authorities Sunday to stop his trial and accused the State Security Court of dragging its feet in issuing a verdict. Aktham Naisse is charged with spreading false information, forming an underground association with links to international human rights groups and opposing the ruling Baath Party. Naisse, the chairman of the Committees for the Defense of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria, was arrested in April 2004. Released four months later on bail, he still faces a sentence of three to 15 years. His trial was recently adjourned until April 4.

In a recent interview with Associated Press, Naisse described the trial as a "farce" and urged authorities to cancel it. He said the State Security Court was "unconstitutional" and accused the court of "procrastinating" in issuing a verdict.

Egyptians Urged to Support Constitutional Reform.
Feminist author Nawal el-Saadawi, democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim, and former opposition parliamentarian Mohammed Farid Hassanein have urged Egyptians to sign a petition for constitutional reform. Egyptians currently choose a president by referendum, voting "yes" or "no" on a single candidate chosen by a parliament controlled by the ruling National Democratic Party. "We want to collect at least one million signatures in our campaign," el-Saadawi said. The parliament has consistently rejected calls for more than one presidential candidate.

RESOURCES

Call for Papers--CSID 2005 Conference--Democracy and Development
A Call for Papers is available for the 6th Annual on "Democracy and Development:  Challenges for the Islamic World" taking place on April 22-23, 2005 in Washington, DC. Paper proposals (no more than 400 words) should be sent to: Prof. Asma Afsaruddin, Chair, Conference Program Committee, 2121 K Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20037.  Tel.: (202) 942-2183.  Fax: (202) 628-8189.  E-mail: conference@islam-democracy.org.

OPPORTUNITIES

The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs/Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program
The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs/Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program pages on the U.S. Department of State careers web site. Applications for the 2005 Pickering Fellowship are now being accepted. The application deadline for the undergraduate program is February 21, 2005 and the application deadline for the graduate program is February 28, 2005. Click here to go to the Pickering webpage.

Building Recovery and Reform through Democratic Governance, DPK Consulting
DPK Consulting is seeking short- and long-term consultants for Building Recovery and Reform through Democratic Governance, an anticipated initiative under USAID to promote activities in democratic governance, including: reinforcing legitimacy of state structures, policies and functions; public management; and strategic planning, policy and institutional reform. Candidates must have a minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience and at least five years of international experience with USAID or other donor-funded projects. Please send resume to: resume@dpkconsulting.com and reference "FPA-BRDG” in the subject line of your email. No phone calls, please.

National Democratic Institute: Regional Director of Latin America and the Caribbean
National Democratic Institute (NDI) is accepting applications for a Regional Director of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Director will design, develop and manage all aspects of NDI's program in Latin American and the Caribbean. Full details available here.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Broadcast Director, Radio Free Afghanistan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty seeks to fill a Broadcast Director in Prague based programming service for Radio Free Afghanistan. Eligible candidates, with 10 or more years' journalistic experience, must be fluent in Dari and /or Pashto, with a professional proficiency in English. They will also possess excellent organizational, writing and editorial skills and knowledge of the political, economic, and social structures of Afghanistan, surrounding regions, as well as a sound background in International Affairs. The ideal candidate will possess previous experience in managing news organizations, including tasks like developing program content, budgeting, managing staff and resources, organizing work processes, mentoring and team-building in a multicultural environment. Competitive salary and benefits offered, commensurate with experience. See website for detailed job posting under “Broadcast Director, Radio Free Afghanistan.”

German Marshall Fund of the United States, Peter R. Weitz Journalism Prize
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is currently accepting entries for the fifth annual Peter R. Weitz Journalism Prize. The two-part prize – divided into senior and junior awards – is named after Peter R. Weitz, former director of programs at GMF's Washington, DC, headquarters, and acknowledges outstanding and original coverage of transatlantic and European issues and events by the American media. Journalists covering European issues for U.S. newspapers and magazines, whether they are based overseas or the United States, are eligible for the $10,000 senior prize or the $5,000 junior prize (for journalists 35 and under). The winners are selected each spring by a jury of senior American and European journalists based on work published either in print or online by American news media during the previous calendar year. Jury members look for original and informative reporting on and analysis of European and/or transatlantic events and issues. The entry deadline is Friday, February 27, 2005.

Last year, the senior prize was award to a team of journalists from The Wall Street Journal for a five part series on “The Disintegration of the Trans-Atlantic Relationship.” The series was a collaborative effort of John Carreyrou, Christopher Rhoades, Marc Champion, Charles Flemming, Carla Anne Robbins, and Ian Johnson. For the first time, GMF awarded two junior Peter R. Weitz Prizes, to Time Magazine's Jeffrey Chu for “Faith, Hope and Trust in Europe” and to Matthew Kaminski from The Wall Street Journal Europe for his series “Wider Europe – What Sort of Europe.” For more information and to obtain entry forms, please visit the GMF web site.

EVENTS

March 8-11, 2005, Club de Madrid and the Varsavsky Foundation, Barcelona Spain
International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security, "Democracy for a Safer World."
The conference, sponsored by the Club de Madrid and the Varsavsky Foundation, is supported by the Government of Spain, the Regional Government of Madrid and the City of Madrid. More than 50 former and current Heads of State and Government, decision and policy makers, world experts, and citizens will participate in this forum. For more information, go: here.