Egyptian Democracy Network Launched – Despite Harassment
Leading Egyptian democrats and civil society figures have joined with US, European and Middle Eastern activists to form the Egyptian Democracy Support Network in advance of this month's forthcoming legislative elections. An Egyptian Task Force will monitor the status of democratization and urge the government to pursue genuine reform and respect human rights. The network's international members will provide technical, financial and other means of support as the Egyptian team requests.

An Egyptian court this week accepted NGO requests to supervise the elections. The Egyptian government will not allow foreign supervision so observers at the country's 10,644 polling stations will come from domestic groups, including the National Council for Human Rights.

The support of international NGOs adds a vital element of solidarity as the network adds momentum to the revival of Egyptian civil society which is becoming a more vibrant and effective force for democratic change. The network protocol was signed only after the network's founding conference in Alexandria was violently disrupted by individuals associated with the state security services.

Egyptian civil society groups signing up to the network include the New Forum Association, the Association for Transparency, and the Ibn Khaldun Center. International supporters include parliamentarian Gianni Vernetti of Italy's center left Margherita party, Hussain Sinjari of the Iraq Institute for Democracy, the Spanish FRIDE foreign relations institute, Italian NGO No Peace Without Justice and Iranian democrat Mariam Memarsadeghi. The initiative was conceived at the Brussels conference of the Transatlantic Democracy Network earlier this year.

Opposition Parties United – Well, Almost
Egypt's political opposition is showing greater confidence since the formation of a new alliance. The United National Front for Change could make serious gains in this month's legislative elections at the expense of the ruling National Democratic Party, which now holds over 90% of parliamentary seats. The front will contest the elections with "a unified list" -- excluding the Ghad Party -- comprising 11 opposition parties and groups, including the liberal Wafd, leftist Tagammu and Nasserist opposition parties, the moderate Islamist Wassat and Karama parties, and the Movement for Change (Kifaya). But the ruling NDP will not face a unified opposition in every constituency as the Muslim Brotherhood 's election list of over 150 candidates was finalized prior to the Front's launch.

The emergence of the Front is a significant development since the NDP's strategic priority, says analyst Khalil Alanani, is to prevent the emergence of a united opposition from which might emerge a credible alternative to the NDP at the next presidential election. “The NDP will continue trying to break up the Ghad Party,” Alanani predicts (the party is currently riven by internal conflicts).

"We're All Democrats Now…"
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is proclaiming its conversion to democratic principles at every opportunity. "The people are the source of all authority,” the Brotherhood's program states, “and it is not permissible for any person, group, or authority to claim the right to hold power.” A younger generation of reputedly pragmatic candidates has been pushed forward. The Brotherhood denies that its election slogan -- “Islam is the solution!” – implies the imposition of sharia law. “Applying Islamic laws in one country does not entail mimicking other countries,” a spokesman argues. “Egypt will undoubtedly differ from the experiences of other Muslim countries such as Sudan and Pakistan.”

But authoritarian inclinations still manifest themselves in hostility to political rivals, especially pro-Western groups. Muhammad Habib, the Brotherhood's Deputy Supreme Guide, let slip in a recent interview that "people who wait for America to come and free them do not deserve to live free." The Brotherhood has also been linked with the recent violence against Christian Copts in Alexandria, and accused of trying to foment sectarian feeling to influence the imminent electoral contest between the ruling NDP's local Coptic candidate and his Muslim Brotherhood rival.

The NDP is also burnishing its liberal credentials, stressing a commitment to incremental change by highlighting fresh faces from its own new generation of reformists. Mohamed Kamal is typical of the breed, a US-trained political scientist associated with the NDP modernizers led by Gamal Mubarak, son of President Hosni Mubarak. “Elections are a one-day event,” Kamal argues. “Democracy requires a certain political culture and strong institutions.”

Playing a modest but vital part in nurturing Egypt's nascent democratic culture and institutions are democracy assistance groups like the National Democratic Institute (NDI), International Republican Institute (IRI) and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) which are actively training journalists, running political skills workshops for women, and training parties from across the political spectrum.

Syria's Opposition Regroups Around "Historic" Declaration …
Syria's Ba'athist regime faces the prospect of sanctions after the United Nations Security Council last week approved unanimously a damning resolution. The move came after UN investigator Detlev Mehlis implicated senior officials close to President Bashar al-Assad in the February assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri.

Unprecedented pressure on the regime is spurring fresh efforts to unify Syria's fractured opposition. Liberal democrats joined with leftists, Islamists and Kurds in signing the Damascus Declaration for Democratic and National Change on October 16, shortly after the death of Interior Minister Ghazi Kenaan, a possible alternative to Assad.

The US Administration reportedly changed its Syria policy from regime-change to policy change because of the absence of "any coherent, organized opposition." But several internal and exiled groups recently signed the Damascus Declaration which calls on democratic forces, including Ba'athist reformers or "people of the regime," to undertake "a salvation task of change that takes the country from being a security state to a civil state." Signatories reject "change coming from the outside" but promise "to do whatever is necessary to launch a process of democratic change."

The diversity of the signatories is as significant as its content, with the Muslim Brotherhood joining the leftist-nationalist Democratic National Gathering, the Committees for Civil Society Revival, the Democratic Kurdish Alliance, the Democratic Kurdish Front, and the Future (Al-Mustaqbal) Party. Several prominent dissidents also signed, including imprisoned parliamentarian Riad Seif.

The declaration is a historic initiative, says Yassin al-Haj Saleh, a leading dissident and civil society activist. "For the first time since the Ba'ath Party seized power in 1963, a broad understanding was reached between the main body of the Syrian opposition and a majority of Kurdish parties, between secular parties and the Muslim Brotherhood."

Ali Sadr-al-Din Al-Bayanuni, general guide of Syria's Muslim Brotherhood, described the declaration as "a real alternative" that marks the launch of a "national collective action." He told the London-based Asharq al-Awsat that while change "will be carried out by the Syrians themselves," they will need "support and cover from the international community" when the regime resorts to violence.

The Brotherhood's own influence is subject to debate, with some commentators suggesting that its strength is overestimated since it never fully recovered from the severe repression following the 1982 Hama massacre. Compared with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the Syrian Brotherhood has "a far less educated membership, boasts a far less wealthy constituency (drawn primarily from the lower middle class), and poses a much less potent political threat," argues one observer. Others suggest that it is being eclipsed by a Sunni Salafist movement while others argue that Syrians, disillusioned with ideologues of whatever stripe, including opposition Islamists and leftists, are ready for a new generation of moderates.

Whether anti-Ba'athist forces are in a position to challenge the regime is a question on which they are characteristically divided. The opposition is in "intellectual crisis," says Riad al-Turk, a veteran communist and political prisoner, sometimes described as Syria's "Mandela." "It is intellectually backwards and incapable of communicating with the populace." This is unfortunate, because there is a coincidence of internal opposition, international pressure and a weak regime. "The system appears very strong, but… it is really very weak," he insists. "A small kick could cause it to fall."

There are three reasons for the opposition's weakness, says dissident Yassin al-Haj Saleh: economic depression and poverty; 30 years of intense oppression; and the fractured nature of Syrian society. "The Arabs fear the Kurds and the Kurds don't trust the Arabs. The Christians are afraid of the Muslims and the Muslims are apathetic or sometimes antagonistic toward the Kurds," he argues. "The secularists are afraid of the Islamists and the Islamists hate the secularists. Many people fear the other more than they fear the regime."

Exiled democrats agree on the regime's vulnerability but seem more confident of the opposition's capacity to take power. "There's a window of opportunity right now," suggests Farid Ghadry, leader of the US-based Reform Party of Syria. "With the Damascus Declaration and the Mehlis report, it feels like it's all coming together and that real change could happen." But Ghadry suggests democrats would be in a position to assume office shortly after the regime's collapse.

. . . as "Fragile" Ba'athist Regime Pressured
The UN report presents Assad with a painful dilemma. Failure to collaborate with UN demands could lead to sanctions but prosecuting or surrendering those fingered by Mehlis would provoke internal discord or even a coup. Syria experienced 21 military coups between the end of the French mandate after World War II and the 1970 coup by Hafez Assad, Bashar's father. Syrian generals already resent Assad for capitulating to international demands to withdraw the army from Lebanon which hit its lucrative black marketing and Bekaa valley drug trafficking.

Damascus seemingly views the US presence in the Middle East as the principal threat to its strategic interests and is convinced that the US and some European allies are set on regime change. In a recent CNN interview, Assad notably distinguished between insurgents who target US troops and those who kill Iraqi civilians. More ominously, the regime appears willing to strike out against its neighbors, and perhaps beyond, reportedly reviving a Tehran-Damascus-Beirut axis to mobilize Hezbollah and pro-Syrian Palestinian factions in Lebanon and Palestine.

"The survival of the Syrian regime depends on opening its political system to share power and satisfying international demands," says Robert Rabil, an adjunct scholar of the Washington Institute. "Otherwise, Damascus would set itself on a self-destructive path. So far, it seems that [Bashar] is choosing the second option."

Syria: Regimes Change or Policy Change?
Syria watchers are divided on the desirability of regime change and prospects for democratization given its fractured opposition and weak civil society. Assad is making the familiar case of "Après moi, le deluge Islamiste," arguing that his rule is the only barrier to communal strife and Islamist rule.

The argument is echoed by some observers, including Josh Landis, a Syria-based American academic. "The fragility of the Middle Eastern state and the dangers of breaking it are everywhere to see -- Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Sudan, and Iran to name a few," Landis argues. "There are no good options for the West -- there are only less bad ones." He fears the deprivations caused by sanctions will create a "Gaza syndrome." When the regime eventually falls, society will be "so abused, uneducated and radicalized that the situation will be infinitely worse and Syrians will be less able to find a peaceful solution to their problems."

But, far from guaranteeing stability, Ba'athist rule is inherently unstable, argues Lebanese observer Michael Young. "Fear of volatility should not be turned into a prescription for stalemate, or into support for a regime that has in fact become a catalyst for Syrian instability." The real question, argues Young, is whether "political forces inside Syria will sit idly by as the regime takes the country into a period of prolonged uncertainty."

Even commentators normally defensive of the region's status quo accept that Assad's regime has reached its "end phase." In today's Middle East, "coups are probably only possible if they come with a credible promise of democratic change," argues Volker Perthes, director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. A "Syrian Musharraf" might be the least bad solution, he suggests.

A dwindling number of observers still advise engaging Damascus "as an inducement for Syria's strategic realignment." Other former advocates of such a carrot-and-stick approach have given up on Assad and are skeptical of the regime's efforts to secure a Libyan-style compromise with the West. Hopes that Bashar would lead a process of "soft de-Ba'athification" have been dashed.

Similarly, the results of EU efforts to bring Syria into a "partnership agreement" through its Barcelona Process have been disappointing. Few now share the conviction that Assad's reformist instincts are frustrated by entrenched Ba'athist die-hards. "This story of an old guard that prevents some reforms is nonsense," says a Syrian businessman. "Bashar manipulates everybody and this serves him as a cover, especially for intoxicating European officials who believe in him."

Democracy Focus for Revived Atlanticism
On his recent visit to Washington, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso made a point of stressing the revival of transatlantic dialogue and cooperation. “Our strategic partnership should serve to promote democracy, human rights, rule of law, and market economy,” he noted.

The EU and the US share key foreign policy objectives and complementary approaches, ranging from stabilisation and reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq, to promotion of democracy in Lebanon and Ukraine. The European Commission makes an important contribution to achieving the objectives of the G8 Broader Middle East and Northern Africa (BMENA) initiative and its Forum for the Future through its engagement with partner countries through the Barcelona Process and the European Neighbourhood Policy.

Barroso's energetic Atlanticism has prompted renewed optimism over prospects for transatlantic cooperation on democracy promotion and other critical foreign policy issues. Following the “brittle and emotional debate” over Iraq, “an effective transatlantic link … is rapidly re-emerging,” says Daniel Fried, the US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. Europe “is the key partner in this strategy of advancing freedom and addressing common challenges,” a strategy, moreover, that is “as bipartisan in its potential as it is bold” and “the orientation of many people with whom I worked in the Clinton administration.”

The results of the recent elections in Germany and Poland, and the much-diminished status of France's Jacques Chirac might also revive Atlanticism. Both Chirac and former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder cultivated anti-Americanism for short-term gain, says Euro-watcher Charles Kupchan, but with “plunging popularity and electorates in open revolt,” the benefits have been short-lived. Europe's citizens do not want to choose between the US and the EU, Kupchan asserts, and prefer the Atlantic partnership to remain intact. “As they seek a new vision, Europe's leaders should still aspire toward greater geopolitical ambition,” he says. “But they will succeed only in dividing Europe unless that vision includes a healthy dose of Atlanticism.”

Transatlantic cooperation for democratization could be a “basis of renewed comity,” argues Joshua Muravchik, a leading expert on democracy promotion. A transatlantic consortium to aid Middle East democrats should also engage other democratic states. “It will be far harder for regimes to stigmatize domestic groups for taking aid from a consortium of democracies,” he argues. The issue is one that cries out for European leadership. “The practice of giving aid to civil society and to democratic groups is something that Europeans have long practiced,” Muravchik notes, not least in the pioneering work of the German party foundations.

Forum for Future Addresses Mideast Reform
Democratic change in the Middle East will top the agenda of the Forum for the Future in Bahrain this week. The forum brings together the region's governments with the Group of Eight (G8) democracies and civil society representatives on November 11-12. The US has consulted with individual European states, the European Union and the region's governments about “funding mechanisms to ensure that this is a lasting device, a lasting political forum where those groups can come together.” US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice is expected to announce a new Middle East foundation to empower people in the region and promote democratic reform.

Knowledge and education, women's empowerment, and human rights will be key themes of discussions in which civil society groups will enjoy the same level of participation as government officials and ministers, organizers say. Over 100 international delegates will join local activists at a parallel conference for NGOs. Some local groups have complained that Bahrain's government has only invited “safe” NGOs and excluded critics. Nabeel Rajab, former head of the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said the organising committee was dominated by pro-government groups.

The role of government-civil society relations remains sensitive in the region. Speculation that Arab governments will be among the contributors to the regional foundation for reform has raised eyebrows. But the experience of the Democracy Assistance Dialogue, which runs parallel to the Forum for the Future, suggests that civil society groups can productively engage with pro-reform governments. Over 400 representatives of governments, parliaments, parties, and NGOs took part in the DAD's Rabat colloquium on political pluralism and electoral processes, held in Morocco, last month. Given that regional governments were represented, the meeting reached significant agreement on key signposts for democratic reform, confirming political pluralism as a universal value and the central role of political parties. The colloquium also underlined civil society's role “in encouraging the growth of an active citizenship that can act as a guarantor, alongside Governments, for the irreversibility of the democratic process and welcoming the constructive contributions of all non-state actors to political life.”

The Bahrain forum is expected to confirm that the challenge of reform transcends such specific challenges as education, corruption, women's empowerment or transparency. The UNDP's Arab Human Development Report highlighted not only the region's multidimensional dysfunctionality, from democratic deficit to economic regression, but also the urgency and interdependence of the necessary reforms. Among the critical challenges, says Scott Carpenter, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, are whether young people can get access to the skills they need to compete in a globalized economy, and “whether or not governments are going to unleash the potential of their citizenry by expanding political and economic freedom.”

Iraq's Voters, Democrats Confound Critics -- Again
"The secret is out. There is something decent unfolding in Iraq," says Fouad Ajami. "It's unfolding in the shadow of a terrible insurgency, but a society is finding its way to constitutional politics.''

The ratification of Iraq's new constitution by 78% of voters cleared the way for parliamentary elections in December. While 21% of voters were opposed, Carina Perelli, the United Nations' senior official in Iraq, said the election was conducted to the highest standard.

The International Crisis Group fears that provisions covering decentralization and federalism are so ambiguous that they "carry the seeds of future discord." But the constitution's delicate and precarious equilibrium indicates that Iraq is "well on the way to becoming a loose union of three separate and radically different states." For Peter Galbraith, an advisor to the Kurds, it has the additional virtues of potentially holding the country together limiting Tehran's influence to the Shi'ite south and recognizing the de facto end of a centralized state.

While it may be an imperfect constitution, some observers are more concerned about the emerging economic and social context. Even should the insurgency be quelled, constitutional lawyer Philip Bobbitt warns, Iraq's oil wealth will allow the state to bypass realistic taxation, replicating the corruption, poor economic performance and weak representative institutions characteristic of the region. A populist demagogue --an Arab Chavez -- could seize power "through the very elections for which Iraqis have sacrificed so much." So it is vital that the economy diversify from reliance on oil and towards an entrepreneurial culture that will foster a range of businesses.

Democracy Promoters Sound Upbeat Note
The referendum demonstrated that political processes work best when empowered citizens feel ownership, says Les Campbell, director of Middle East programs for the National Democratic Institute. Democracy assistance is best delivered discreetly, in a manner designed to bolster and support local processes and actors, he testified before a recent Congressional committee.

Violence should not "overshadow or diminish the magnitude of what the Iraqi people have accomplished" in a year of "extraordinary, frequently heroic, public and private perseverance in the face of a ruthless enemy," said July Van Rest of the International Republican Institute. Iraqis' engagement in political dialogue, negotiation, and compromise and voting had resulted in a "largely unnoticed … sea change in Iraq's political culture." The emergence of an "organized and vocal Iraqi civil society, has been one of the truly great, but largely unheralded, stories."

"The democratic process in Iraq is not a panacea or a silver bullet," says Campbell. Violence and insecurity still threaten the democratic process but Sunni leaders had told NDI's Baghdad representatives of a recent strategic decision to use the political system to pursue policy goals.

Sure enough, leaders of three Sunni parties -- the Iraqi Islamic Party, the National Dialogue Council and the Iraqi People's Gathering -- recently formed the Iraqi Concord Front. The creation of the front suggests that even Sunni leaders opposed to the constitution are willing to use the political process, giving hope to those who suggest "democratic Sunnis will soon come to realize that the federal solution is the only efficient alternative to partition."

Democracy's "Vivid Chinese Characteristics" -- Psychiatric Abuse, Dissident Arrests...
European leaders are being urged to raise the issue of “political psychiatry” with China's President Hu Jintao who this week visits Britain, Germany and Spain. They should apply "rational, non-emotional" pressure on Beijing, says Wang Wanxing, a former dissident. He was released last week after 13 years' in a Beijing hospital for the criminally insane. He was diagnosed with "political monomania after staging a one-man protest in Tiananmen Square.

Wanxing's condition is being monitored by the Amsterdam-based Global Initiative on Psychiatry that campaigned against Soviet psychiatric abuse. Jerome Cohen, a New York University expert on Chinese law, says police still send detainees to psychiatric hospitals. "It is a live option," he said in Beijing last week. "While it is not as prominent as it was in the old Soviet system, it's still there."

Democrats worldwide will rejoice to learn that China's State Council has issued a formal paper stressing its commitment to Building Political Democracy in China. Of course, Beijing's version of socialist democracy will have “vivid Chinese characteristics”, one of which unfortunately appears to be the absence of liberty and pluralism, not least in the 'special arrangements' for Tibet. The paper has been widely ridiculed. In language reminiscent of the 1936 Soviet Constitution which enshrined the communist party as the state's “leading core”, the Chinese communists also insist on maintaining a monopoly of power.

The ruling communists are aware that rising inequality is at the root of social unrest, particularly in rural areas. The number of “mass incidents” (sit-ins, riots, strikes and demonstrations) reached 74,000 in 2004 and involved about 3.7m individuals, notes the Carnegie Endowment's Minxin Pei. But, “luckily for Beijing, brewing social unrest has not precipitated a nationwide crisis, and participants in these incidents and localised and poorly organised, have yet to form an anti-government movement with mass appeal."

The regime's anxiety is prompting a crack down on independent NGOs as well as individual dissidents. But, with US President George W. Bush due to expected to visit China soon, Beijing is keen to at least hint at openness to reform. The authorities' intolerance of dissent, however, was recently highlighted by the harassment and prosecution of cyber-dissidents and democratic activists monitoring rural unrest. Liu Xiabo, Beijing-based Chairman of the Independent Chinese PEN Center and a leading defender of freedom of expression, has issued a widely circulated open letter to Jerry Yang, Chairman of Yahoo! Inc., condemning the firm's pro-active engagement in the prosecution of cyber-dissident Shi Tao.

As Freedom House's Arch Puddington notes, Yahoo's approach suggests the kind of cynical faux realism that not once led democracy advocates to consider big business as the “soft underbelly of freedom”. George H.W. Bush's national security adviser Brent Scowcroft recalls how he expressed US concern about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre to Deng Xiaoping just six months after the events. But when Deng insisted that it was a purely internal affair, Scowcroft assented. “I said, 'You're right. It is none of our business.'"

Burmese Junta Targets ILO, Labor Activists
Burma's military regime is threatening staff of the International Labour Organisation, the UN's labour watchdog, and jailing alleged collaborators. The regime has sponsored anti-ILO rallies and refused to investigate death threats against Richard Horsey, the ILO's Rangoo-based liaison officer. the ILO this year identified Burma as the world's most "extreme case of forced labour."

Su Su Nway, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy, was sentenced to eighteen months in prison after she sued local authorities for using forced labor. Ten people were arrested after sending evidence of forced labor to I-L-O officials, says Ko Ko Naing of the Federation of Trade Unions.

Local democracy activists are facing threats and harassment in the run up to the December 5 meeting of the National Convention, purportedly the junta's first step on its “roadmap” to democracy.

Burma's military regime threatens regional stability, says Paula Dobriansky, under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs. Extreme poverty, malnutrition, poor access to education, and disease, “combined with the deteriorating human rights and political situation portend a severe crisis” with “serious implications for regional stability.” “We need to press the world to stand firm against the junta,” she told a recent Washington conference, “and remind people everywhere precisely what's going on in Rangoon.” The US would continue to support democracy in Burma.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Democracy Dollars Well Invested
Spending on democracy building generates significant increases in democratic governance across the world, according to a joint study from Vanderbilt and Pittsburgh universities. "When the US spends money to promote democracy in foreign countries, it works," says Vanderbilt professor Mitchell Seligson. Using data from the post-Cold War democracy portfolio of the U.S. Agency for International Development, a cross-national quantitative study found spending on democracy and governance had a significant positive impact. Researchers used data from Freedom House to show that for every additional $10 million of democracy assistance, a country will be one-quarter of a point higher on the Freedom House democracy ratings. The full study will be available by November 30 here.

2005 World Press Freedom Index
“North Korea holds up the world” may sound like one of the regime's Stalinist slogans but in fact applies to the country's bottom ranking in the fourth annual World Press Freedom Index from the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders. The Pyongyang regime is in last place in respecting freedom of the press, closely preceded by Eritrea (166) and Turkmenistan (165). Recently-freed or –democratic countries appear to value press freedom highly, disproving the argument democracy takes decades to consolidate itself. Among the top 60 countries in the Index are nine states that have only emerged or regained their independence within the past 15 years.

Activists Share Euro-Parliament's Sakharov Prize
Cuba's Damas de Blanco, or Ladies in White, the wives and mothers of imprisoned dissidents, received this year's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov. Nigerian lawyer Hauwa Ibrahim and the France-based Reporters Without Borders, also received the prize, awarded annually by the European Parliament, because the Parliament was unable to decide between them.

They will receive a shared cash prize of €50,000 euros ($60,300) in a December 10 ceremony in Strasbourg, France. The Sakharov Prize awards "outstanding achievements in the fight to protect freedom of thought and expression against intolerance, fanaticism, and hatred."

Pakistan Earthquake: Need for Donations
Pro-democracy and civil society groups in Kashmir and adjacent regions devastated by the recent earthquake are in urgent need of donations. The Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy desperately needs funds to rent vehicles, buy food and blankets and make arrangements for refugees. Any donations will be greatly appreciated. Please also pass on this message. Make a donation here at Teachers Without Borders and receive a tax deductible donation receipt. Please make the donation for PODA-Earthquake Help.

IGOs, NGOs Adopt Election Monitoring Standards
Leading democracy promoters joined UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and others last week to unveil a declaration of principles for international election observation. The declaration and an accompanying code of conduct aim to bring observer groups under a common set of standards for professional, impartial and effective observation. The declaration is endorsed by the European Commission, European Network of Electoral Monitoring Organizations, the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute, amongst other groups. The full text of the declaration is available here.

RESOURCES

Democratisation in the European Neighbourhood
The Centre for European Policy Studies has produced the first comprehensive work covering democratisation in the wider European neighbourhood since 2004's seminal events of 2004, includes assessments of the Orange, Rose and Cedar Revolutions. Regional experts interpret recent revolutions and prospects for further democratization in Belarus and the Mediterranean Arab world. Includes contributions from Senem Aydin, Michael Emerson, Hendrik Kraetzschmar, Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Hrihory Nemyria, Ghia Nodia, Gergana Noutcheva, Nikolay Petrov, Madalena Resende, Uvladzimir Rouda, Emad El-Din Shahin, Bassam Tibi, Nathalie Tocci, Marius Vahl and Richard Youngs. The book can be downloaded here.

Journal of Democracy
The latest issue of the Journal of Democracy includes several articles on Iran's presidential elections, plus case studies of developments in Belarus, the Caribbean, Cambodia, Nepal, and Ethiopia. For selected online articles and the tables of contents of all JOD issues, go here. The journal is co-edited by Marc F. Plattner and Larry Diamond at the International Forum for Democratic Studies and published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.

Assessing the Quality of Democracy
Larry Diamond and Leonardo Morlino, director of the Interuniversity Research Center on Southern Europe, have edited Assessing the Quality of Democracy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), a collection of six theoretical essays and six comparative case studies on ways to evaluate and improve the quality of new democratic regimes.

Cuba's Book-Burning
"The Global Resurgence of Democracy," another book in the Johns Hopkins series, is one of hundreds of books judged to be subversive and ordered to be burned by Cuban authorities.

Democracy Watch
The November issue of Democracy Watch is available from the Council for the Study of Islam and Democracy and has posted online here, in both English and Arabic.  It contains several news items and articles on democratization efforts and reforms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Please send your comments and feedback to Slah Jourchi, Editor in Chief, at: sjourchi@yahoo.fr

Network of Democracy Research Institutes
The new electronic newsletter of the Network of Democracy Research Institutes is now available. The Network is a membership association of institutions that conduct and publish research on democracy and democratic development. It is also one of several functional networks associated with the World Movement for Democracy. Additional information about the Network, a listing and profiles of all member institutes, and back issues of this newsletter are available here.

Georgetown University Launches Master's Degree Program in Democracy Studies
Georgetown University's Department of Government and the Center for Democracy and the Third Sector (CDATS) recently launched a new master's degree program in democracy studies to begin the fall of 2006. The goal of the Democracy Studies M.A. program is to provide graduate students with a systematic understanding of the history and theory of democracy, the forms and practices of democratic governance, the theory and practice of democratization, and the relationship between democracy and development. The course has been designed for both aspiring scholars and for present and future practitioners in government, business, and the non-profit sector. Additional information available here. Go here to download application forms or here to apply online.

Democratiya
In the latest issue of Democratiya, Jean Bethke Elshtain does not recognize the portrayal of the USA as a 'republic of fear,' a 'distempered democracy' plagued by 'demophobia,' in Democracy and America's War on Terror. The latest issue also features items on Iraq's democratic transition, Slavoj Žižek's “theoretical and political decadence,” Michael Ignatieff's defence of democracy against terrorism, and the global democratic revolution. Democratiya is a voluntary enterprise and needs financial support to cover expenses for mail, stationery, publicity and web development. Please make checks payable to 'Alan Johnson,' Democratiya's editor, and send to 3 High Tenterfell, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 4PG, United Kingdom.

Is the Arab World is Ready for Democracy?
A recording of the recent Berlin debate between Reuel Gerecht of the American Enterprise Institute and the Heinrich Böll Foundation's Claude Weinber is available here courtesy of the Aspen Institute Berlin, the debate organizers.

OPPORTUNITIES

European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights: Call for Proposals - Albania, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh
The European Commission is seeking proposals for micro-projects designed to promote and protect human rights and democracy in Albania, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh. Full details here.

Ion Ratiu Scholarships are awarded to Romanian students to study a wide range of subjects in the UK. The scholarships enable talented graduates and young professionals to become familiar with the UK and gain skills, which they can adapt and apply in Romania. In addition, The Ratiu Foundation awards travel scholarships to students and researchers from the USA to participate in projects and summer schools in Romania. Application forms can be downloaded here.

Request for Proposals: Tactical Innovation and Strategic Thinking in Global Human Rights
The New Tactics in Human Rights Project of the Center for Victims of Torture has received a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to award in turn to two partner organizations in the period December 2005-September 2006. Each partner would receive a grant of up to US$9,500 (€7,875) to carry out activities facilitating the distribution of New Tactics concepts, ideas, materials, tools and tactical approaches to human rights advocates across their country and/or region.   Full details here. Return information form by November 15 to: Nancy Pearson, New Tactics in Human Rights Project, c/o The Center for Victims of Torture, 717 River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA Fax: +1 612 436 2606, E-mail: newtactics@cvt.org.

Transatlantic Institute, Executive Director, Brussels, Belgium
Growing Brussels-based non-partisan NGO, founded in 2004 to strengthen trans-Atlantic understanding on key political and strategic issues - including terrorism and democracy -- seeks dynamic, experienced Executive Director. Responsibilities include formulation and implementation of programs, including publications and private and public discourse, to examine core trans-Atlantic concerns, advance common policies and advocate Institute positions; written analysis of significant developments in trans-Atlantic affairs; representation of the Institute in the public policy community and media; institutional development, including donor relations. Position requires proven management, institution-building and advocacy abilities; background in public policy; superb written and oral communication skills in English; periodic travel; residency in Brussels. Fluency in other European languages, especially French, is a plus. The Transatlantic Institute is affiliated with the American Jewish Committee, a U.S.-based civic organization committed to human rights, democratic pluralism and peace. Please send letter and c.v. by email to info@transatlanticinstitute.org.

National Endowment for Democracy, Program Assistant for Africa
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a congressionally funded, private, nonprofit grant making organization that works to support freedom around the world, seeks a Program Assistant in the Africa section. The position is based in Washington, D.C. Specific duties of the Program Assistant will include: assisting program staff with general administrative duties; researching information about potential grantees and current political developments on the continent; maintaining contacts with grantees; organizing meetings for visiting grantees; attending conferences, meetings and other events; providing support for considering and awarding grants to nongovernmental organizations working on democracy-building programs in Africa. Applicants should have the following qualifications: Bachelor's degree in relevant field; knowledge of African political and social issues; strong written and oral communication skills in English and French; Portuguese, Arabic, or Swahili preferred; administrative support experience preferred; attention to detail and the ability to multi-task; MS Office Skills required. NED offers competitive salaries and excellent benefits. The NED is an equal opportunity employer. For more information go here. Please submit resume to africajobs@ned.org.

International Republican Institute, Resident Program Officer, Jakarta, Indonesia
The Resident Program Officer (RPO) works with the Resident Country Director in the design and implementation of IRI's programs in Indonesia. The RPO manages and implements one (or more) of IRI's programs, such as women's political participation, party capacity-building, coalition-building, governance, and/or others as needed. S/he works in developing program/project plans and identifies key players and partners for specific IRI programs. The RPO assists in developing and monitoring program proposals and budgets and may participate in negotiating funding proposals with USG and other funding sources. The RPO interacts with IRI Washington headquarters staff, US and host country government officials, and program grantees. Full details available here. Contact: HR Dept/RPO Indonesia Email: personnel@iri.org. Fax 202-408-9462 Apply by: November 15, 2005.

International Republican Institute, Resident Country Director for Sudan
The Resident Country Director (RCD) is the most senior IRI representative in Sudan and has the ultimate responsibility, authority and accountability for IRI's operations in the country. The Director is responsible for the design and implementation of IRI's program in the country. S/he develops long range and annual plans for the country program, identifies key players and partners in IRI programs, and works with Regional program and local program staff to develop and implement a wide variety of program activities, including, as appropriate, political party capacity-building, coalition-building, election-monitoring and voter education activities and others. Full details here. Contact Information: HR Dept/RCD Sudan Email: personnel@iri.org. Apply by: November 15, 2005

International Republican Institute, Resident Country Director for Colombia (Bogota)
The Resident Country Director (RCD) is the most senior IRI representative in COUNTRY and has the ultimate responsibility, authority and accountability for IRI's operations in Colombia. The Director is responsible for the design and implementation of IRI's program in Colombia. S/he develops long range and annual plans for the country program, identifies key players and partners in IRI programs, and works with Regional program and local program staff to develop and implement a wide variety of program activities, including, as appropriate, political party capacity-building, coalition-building, election-monitoring and voter education activities and others. Full details here. CONTACT: IRI – HR Dept/RCD Colombia Email: personnel@iri.org. Fax: 202-408-9462 Apply by: November 15, 2005.

International Republican Institute, Resident Program Officer, Bolivia (La Paz)
The Resident Program Officer (RPO) works with the Resident Country Director in the design and implementation of IRI's programs in Bolivia. The Resident Program Officer manages and implements one or several of IRI's programs, such as party capacity-building, coalition-building, election-monitoring, voter education activities and/or others as needed. S/he works in developing program/project plans and identifies key players and partners for specific IRI programs. Full details here.CONTACT: IRI – HR Dept/RPO Bolivia E-mail: personnel@iri.org. Fax: (202) 408-9462

National Democratic Institute, Woman's Participation Expert, Afghanistan
NDI seeks a Woman's Participation Expert to help implement a program supporting the development of a parliamentary women's caucus in Afghanistan's National Assembly. The position is a short-term assignment, and anticipated to start January 15, 2006. Primary responsibilities include conducting training seminars and workshops for women elected representatives; building and maintaining relationships with women representatives in the National Assembly, political parties and NGOs; consulting with political party representatives to develop mechanisms for increasing support for women within party structures; assistance in developing networks for information and skills exchange among political party members, emerging women leaders, and international trainers. Knowledge of Dari, Pashto or another applicable language is desirable but not required. Full details available here. Interested applicants can apply now using the on-line resume tool. Please cite the exact position title in the cover letter. No phone calls please

International Center for Transitional Justice, Director, Brussels, Belgium
The ICTJ assists countries pursuing accountability for mass atrocity or human rights abuse. The Center works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved. Full details here. The ICTJ seeks an experienced Director based in Brussels to help conceptualize and execute our work with European institutions and governments. Contact Information: Joyce Munn: jmunn@ictj.org. No phone calls, please. Apply by: December 1, 2005

IFES-democracy at large, Chief of Party, Kabul, Afghanistan
IFES is proposing to strengthen the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) through outreach, advocacy and policy strengthening, and capacity building. This is a two year project requiring a minimum one-year commitment from the Chief of Party. Full details here. Phone: (202)350-6700 Email: jobs@ifes.org. Apply by: November 26, 2005

IFES-democracy at large, Senior Program Manager (A09), Washington, D.C.
Incumbent will provide a range of program coordination support expertise to all developmental and funded activities undertaken by the Center. This support may include, but is not limited to assistance with the development of program design, project budgets, donor submission and ongoing liaison. Full details here. Phone: (202)350-6700 Email: jobs@ifes.org. Apply by: November 26, 2005

European Management Solutions, Consultants for NIS projects, various locations
European Management Solutions, a Moscow based Dutch consultancy firm specializing in recruitment for donor-funded projects in Eastern Europe and Central Asia TACIS countries, is looking to identify outstanding experts in democratization and human rights, rule of law and civil society development for strengthening its roster of consultants. Further details here. Please send resumes to e-mail: employment@europeansolutions.nl Contact Information: Luc Vocks Phone: 0031-6-47786079. Apply by: December 31, 2005

Transparency International, Publications and Online Manager, Berlin, Germany
TI is a leading civil society organisation in the global fight against corruption, with more than 90 national chapters and an International Secretariat based in Berlin, Germany. TI seeks a Publications and Online Manager on a 2 years contract with the option of extension. Starting date: 1st December 2005. Location: Berlin, Germany. Responsibilities include developing and implementing TI's publications and online strategy. Full details here. Qualified candidates should submit via email, a cover letter, CV (in English) and the contact details of 2 to 3 referees to: e-mail: communicationsjob@transparency.org."

Creative Associates International, Inc, Chief of Party Middle East Media Strengthening Programs, Egypt and Palestine
Creative Associates International Inc., is a professional services firm specializing in educational development, post-conflict transitions, and community-based media development. Based in Washington, D.C. the firm has a field presence in 14 countries. Creative Associates is seeking key personnel for donor-funded independent media development projects in Egypt, Palestine and the Middle East region. Locations: Cairo, Egypt and Ramallah, West Bank. Full details: here. Send resume and cover letter to e-mail: recruitment@caii.com with “Middle East Media, Chief of Party” in the subject line. Contact Information: Recruitment Manager. Phone: 202-966-5804. Apply by: November 16, 2005

EVENTS

November 9. Where Goes the Libya Model?, American Enterprise Institute
It has been over a year since the United States reestablished relations with Libya and over two years since President George W. Bush declared that the Libyan government was taking encouraging steps toward reform. Has the rapprochement been a success? Is it a victory for the Bush doctrine? Can Libya serve as a role model for other “rogue regimes”? What has rapprochement meant for the Libyan people? These and other questions will be the subject of an AEI panel discussion. Speakers will include Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Mohamed El-Jahmi, co-founder of the American Libyan Freedom Alliance; and Claudia Rosett, journalist-in-residence at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. AEI scholar Michael Rubin will moderate. 9:00–10:30 a.m. Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI, 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Register online here.

November 10-12. "Democracy in the Post Communist World: Unfinished Business." Club of Madrid General Assembly and Annual Conference.
The Czech Foreign Ministry and COM Member Vaclav Havel will host the event. Issues to be discussed include democracy and authoritarianism in the post-communist world, and the European Union and the promotion of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The Club of Madrid is an independent organization composed of democratic former heads of state and government who are devoted to strengthening democracy around the world. Go here for full details.

November 15. International Campaign for Tibet's Light of Truth Award
The Dalai Lama will also present the Light of Truth award to Holocaust survivor, writer and peace activist Elie Wiesel; correspondent Lowell Thomas Jr, one of the first Westerners to visit Tibet prior to the Chinese invasion in 1949; and Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy. The Light of Truth award is a Tibetan butter-lamp symbolizing the light that each recipient has shed on the struggle for human rights and democratic freedoms for the Tibetan people. Award-winners will be introduced by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, former US representative at the United Nations, and Paula Dobriansky, Under-Secretary of State and U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. Elie Wiesel will give an address on the concept of universal responsibility. Further details here. For tickets to the Light of Truth ceremony contact lotaward@dalailamadc.org.

November 15, 16, 17: Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize-winning economist, Lamont University Professor at Harvard. The Bernard L. Schwartz Forum on Constructive Capitalism
5 to 7 p.m. in Kenney Auditorium, 1740 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036-1983

November 17. Auditing Israeli Democracy 2005: A Decade after the Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Asher Arian, The Israel Democracy Institute, and Shlomit Barnea, Johns Hopkins University.
On November 4, 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing extremist. The third issue of the Israel Democracy Institute's annual audit of the state of Israeli democracy, “Auditing Israeli Democracy 2005,” places special emphasis on protest and violence in Israeli political discourse in commemoration of Rabin's death and the recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. How is Rabin remembered? How is Rabin's legacy etched in Israel's collective memory? How do Israelis view protest and the use of violence in democratic discourse? What impact did the withdrawal from Gaza have on Israeli public opinion? Mr. Asher Arian is a senior fellow at The Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem and Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the Graduate Center of The City University of New York. Ms. Shlomit Barnea is a graduate student in political science at Johns Hopkins University. 12:00–2:00 p.m. Lunch served from 12:00 to 12:30 pm at NED, 1101 Fifteenth Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005 Tel.: 202-293-0300 ext. 665 RSVP (acceptances only) with name and affiliation by Tuesday, November 15 by email to fforum@ned.org

November 18. Egypt's 2005 Elections. Maye Kassem, American University in Cairo, with comments by Carl Gershman, National Endowment for Democracy.
On September 7, Egyptian voters participated in their country's first-ever multicandidate presidential election. The next key event in Egyptian politics will be this year's parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 9 and 20, and December 1. Maye Kassem will discuss lessons learned from the presidential election; their impact on the behavior of candidates, parties, and political movements in the parliamentary elections; and what these historic events mean for the future of Egyptian politics. 12:00–2:00 p.m. Lunch served from 12:00 to 12:30 pm. International Forum for Democratic Studies, 1101 Fifteenth Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005. Tel.: 202-293-0300 ext. 665 RSVP (acceptances only) with name and affiliation by Wednesday, November 16 by email to forum@ned.org

November 28. The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East. Barry Rubin, Author.
7 p.m. Politics and Prose Bookstore Presents 5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW ¨ Washington, DC (At Nebraska Avenue, Free Parking Behind Store).

November 29. "Towards Stronger Transatlantic Relations and a Common Market for the 21st Century"
A Conference in cooperation with EPP, Economic and Social Committee, Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung and FAES Foundation. Europabüro Brüssel, 11, Avenue de l' Yser, B-1040 Brüssels, Belgium. Further details here.

January 20-21, 2006, Commemorating the Constitution, 1906-2006 State Building & Global Responses to Iranian Constitutionalism.
Philadelphia, PA.
The University of Oxford and the University of Pennsylvania are co-sponsoring a conference to be held at the U. of Pennsylvania.  Panelists are invited to submit abstracts of approximately 250 words assessing the process of nation formation, the development of a civic culture, or the international ramifications of this broad-based constitutional movement in the Middle East.  More info: here. 

DOCUMENTS

For the text of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change, go here.