July 23, 2004, Volume 1, Number 12


DEMOCRACY DIGEST

The Weekly Bulletin of the Transatlantic Democracy Network


ISSUES


Turkey – Democratization and Islamization?
The recent G8-endorsed Middle East initiative creates an opportunity to highlight Turkey “as a successful example of transformation from an oriental religious system of government,” says a leading Turkish commentator. Seyfi Tashan, director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Ankara's Bilkent University, says the republic can “provide substantial assistance to many of the initiatives” emerging from the recent G8 summit. Turkey will join with Italy and Yemen to organize the first Forum for the Future conference under the Democracy Assistance Dialogue later this year. If successful, he suggests, the initiative will be “a land mark in modern history and put an end to the 'war of civilizations' theory.”

While European public opinion is largely skeptical, most political leaders are in favor of Turkish accession to the EU as much for political as economic reasons. German foreign minister Joschka Fischer argues that a modernized Turkey would “provide real proof that Islam and modernity, Islam and the rule of law, that this great cultural tradition and human rights are after all compatible.” French President Jacques Chirac reaffirmed his support for Turkey's EU membership this week in talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But while Chirac welcomed Turkey's integration on condition that it “continue and intensify the implementation of democratic and economic reforms", he is opposed by many in his own Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party. The centre-right UDF leader Francois Bayrou reflected the views of many within and outside France by responding that "countries that belong to other continents and other cultures" would create "a weak Europe that will be incapable of taking action."

The EU already seeks to promote democracy in Turkey by means of the "Copenhagen criteria," agreed ten years ago, which require the Turkish authorities to meet high standards on democracy, human rights, justice, the role of religion and Cyprus before the country can be considered for EU membership. A key criterion demands “stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.” Turkey has sought EU membership since 1963, but been consistently rejected on the grounds that it was insufficiently democratic.

In October the European Commission will report on Turkey's compliance with the Copenhagen criteria and December's Amsterdam summit will decide Turkish accession. But according to the Weekly Standard's Christopher Caldwell, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has, paradoxically, found in the EU's Copenhagen criteria “a democratic instrument for bringing about the Islamization of Turkish life.” Erdogan's AK party platform aims to establish "not an Islamic state but a state run by Islamic people." Caldwell argues that EU-prompted liberalization, by reducing the military's political power, allows AK to further both Islamization and democratization. “Rather than democratizing the state by Islamicizing the country,” says Caldwell, Erdogan “seeks to Islamicize the country by democratizing the state.”

The democratic commitment of Erdogan and his AK party have been questioned before. Erdogan reportedly suggested that Turkey should look more to its Middle Eastern neighbors than toward Europe and once likened democracy to a bus: you ride it until you arrive at your destination, then you step off.

But the experience of being removed from the mayoralty of Istanbul by the military in 1999, imprisoned for four months, and banned from public office “seems to have converted him to the view that Turkey needs more democracy,” says one seasoned observer. Since taking office in March of last year, says Steven Kinzer, former New York Times bureau chief in Istanbul, Erdogan “has pulled Turkey further toward democracy than it had moved in the previous quarter-century” and “proven himself more committed to democracy than any of the self-proclaimed 'secular' leaders who misruled Turkey during the 1990s.”

The European Union's own New Neighbourhood Policy (NNP) allows the EU to reduce the burden on its Barcelona Process and focus NNP efforts on Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, writes Seyfi Tashan in a separate paper for the Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission. The NNP process aims in part to uphold European value systems, including democracy and human rights.

Candidate countries for EU membership such as Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria, are not included in the NNP. Beneficiaries will be Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, as well as the “southern Mediterranean” countries of Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, the Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia. The inclusion of the southern Caucasus states of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia will be considered later.

Joint Mideast Strategy the "Ultimate Test Case" for Transatlantic Alliance
A transatlantic strategy for Middle East democratization could pay “handsome dividends” if European leaders show greater strategic audacity and US leaders more political sensitivity, argues Steven Everts, director of the transatlantic programme at the Centre for European Reform. A “joint yet flexible strategy” is urgently needed given that “by choice or default, Europeans and Americans will devote a huge amount of time, resources and energy” to the region.

Writing in International Affairs, journal of the London-based Royal Institute for International Affairs, Everts contends that Arab state failure in part results from flawed Western approaches. “Western pressure has aimed at structural economic reforms while ignoring the underlying political and social shortcomings,” he suggests, generating “pretty disastrous results,” including retarded development and enhanced support for Islamic fundamentalism.

“Europeans, in particular, need to allocate a more prominent place in their policies to promoting democracy and freedom – goals far too important to be left to the neo-conservatives,” Everts insists. He proposes a dramatic increase in direct support for Arab NGOs and campaigners, including €500 million a year for EU democracy promotion and a tenfold (“or even more”) increase for groups like the National Endowment for Democracy. A transparent benchmarking process would measure progress on democracy and good governance, allowing other governments to implement rewards or sanctions.

Konare: African Democrat Steps Up to Sudan Crisis
 Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairman of the African Union (previously the Organization of African Unity), and the former President of Mali, has led in persuading the 53-member AU to offer up to 300 peacekeepers to go into the famine and violence wracked Sudanese province of Darfur. Many observers of the catastrophe in Darfur believe that only the armed presence of international forces can deter tribal militias backed by the Islamist Government of Sudan from continuing their assaults upon African tribes that inhabit this arid region.  

Konare is a figure around whom Europeans and Americans might rally.  Mali is poor, black and Muslim, but has been a democracy since the early 90s, when Konare helped lead a revolution against a military dictatorship. Konare stepped down as President in 2002, after his second term as Mali's elected president-- bowing out in a way that amazed Africans grown accustomed to leaders who only leave office through violence or ill health.  Perhaps not co-incidentally, Konare is a graduate of Warsaw University, and is reported to speak fluent Polish.  

The government of Sudan has often recruited from nomadic Arab tribes to drive African farmers off coveted lands.  This went on for many years in southern Sudan, but a peace process brought some relief.  However, it took little time for the government to resume violence and ethnic cleansing in the country's west--this time against an African population that belongs to the Islamic faith.

Sudan expert Eric Reeves estimates that deaths among displaced and starving peoples in the region will soon reach 10,000 a month, well above UN estimates. While the US Congress just passed a resolution describing this situation as one of "genocide," there is no consensus on this in diplomatic circles. French Foreign Minister Renaud Muselier has dismissed claims of "ethnic cleansing" or genocide in Darfur.  "I firmly believe it is a civil war and as they are little villages of 30, 40, 50, there is nothing easier than for a few armed horsemen to burn things down, to kill the men and drive out the women," he said.

France has significant oil interests in Sudan, as it did in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. France opposes a US-sponsored Security Council resolution that would impose an embargo on arms supply to the Janjaweed tribal militias and block their leaders from travelling abroad.  Sanctions on Sudan would escalate if no measures are take to end the attacks.  

Others in Europe take a different view. According to Reuters, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and PM Tony Blair believe the moral issues in Sudan are so compelling that plans are being considered for sending British troops. London has pressed the European Union to fund the African Union's peacekeeping mission and is exploring the possibility that an EU joint civilian/military team could help make the AU's mission more effective.

What relevance does democracy have in chaos such as that of Sudan? The government of Sudan can surely be described as a failed state. A recent report from a distinguished Commission on Weak States organized by the US Center for Global Development and chaired by former Ambassador Stuart Eisenstadt and Congressman John Porter argues that a functioning state “must foster legitimacy, maintaining institutions that protect basic rights and freedoms, hold individuals accountable for their actions, enforce laws and contracts equally, and enable broad-based citizen participation in the political process.” The peace agreement that the government of Sudan has signed with its rival in the South, the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, holds out the promise of national elections that could be a step toward forming such a government. It seems hardly likely that the current government of Sudan would permit the kind of fair election that could cost it its power. But an election under the oversight of Konare's African Union, backed by resources from the US and EU, might offer a way out.

Beyond Declarations, Arab Activists Agree Mechanisms for Reform
Foreign initiatives for promoting democracy in the Middle East can give impetus to local reform movements, according to Arab activists gathered at a recent Cairo conference on political reform in the Arab world, organized by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights and Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.

The conference, attended by some 100 participants from 15 Arab states, debated international reform initiatives emanating from the recent G8, EU-US and NATO summits. In a final communiqué, participants declared that such initiatives as the G8-endorsed broader Middle East initiative, including the Democracy Assistance Dialogue and Forum for the Future, “can be the basis for a partnership.” While many Arab people may “doubt the true intentions and seriousness of the international initiatives for reforms,” they also “realize their governments reject reforms.”

“Reform is not a vice, it is a virtue,” Kuwaiti columnist Ahmed Al-Rubei told the three-day conference. “Without reforms, this area will explode and will blow up the whole world with it.” Participants accused Arab regimes of posturing and making excuses by objecting to external pressure or insisting that resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict must take priority over domestic reform.

Participants, in the main intellectuals, human rights activists, and writers, considered four potential paths for reform: reform imposed from abroad, as in Iraq, was considered “an exceptional case,” revolution, agreed to be a purely theoretical option given the absence of “a democratic movement capable of realizing its aims through a popular revolution or a civil-military alliance”; gradual reform from above, the Moroccan model, is a third option; and civil society reform which participants agreed “might encompass the penetration and influencing of ruling elites so that they take the path of reform.”

The conference agreed that mechanisms for reform require greater organization and coordination of pro-reform forces at national levels which “could include elements from ruling regimes." The conference suggested a regional forum to promote reforms and “dialogue between Arab governments, civil society and the international community.” The conference also recommends a “civil society observatory” to monitor and measure reform developments in the Arab world.

Palestinian Leadership Crisis Reflects Regional Syndrome
The crisis of the Palestinian Authority, factional violence within PA chairman Yasir Arafat's Fatah movement, and the deterioration of order in Gaza and the West Bank are more than “self-made Palestinian failures,” says a leading Arab commentator. The events also “mirror similar dilemmas that plague most of the Arab world, largely revolving around a single common practice: the tendency of small power elites or single men to monopolize political and economic power in their hands via their direct, personal control of domestic security and police systems.“ The chaos in Gaza, argues Rami Khouri, editor of the Beirut-based Daily Star, is “yet another warning about the failure of the modern Arab security state, and the need for a better brand of statehood based on law-based citizen rights rather than gun-based regime protection and perpetual incumbency.”

His words came shortly after UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen was declared persona non grata by the PA after criticizing Arafat at the UN Security Council. The envoy warned the UN Security Council of "steadily emerging chaos" in Palestinian areas and complained that Arafat showed a "lack of political will" to reform his administration.

His words echoed complaints that have long simmered within PA-controlled territory. The recent unrest followed elections for Fatah district representatives in Gaza in which reformists won big gains. A senior Fatah official confirmed said that election results showed a majority for followers of Mohammad Dahlan, Gaza's heavy-handed but reportedly reform-oriented ex-security chief, who has repeatedly clashed with Arafat.

Palestinian reformists “should not reject international pressure for democratization or for greater governmental transparency,” writes Mohammed Najib, a Ramallah-based journalist. Citing “rampant corruption” within the PA on the part of the “Old Guard, or in Mafioso parlance, the 'made guys',” Najib says that while the “Old Guard likes to use the Israeli occupation as an excuse to evade the corruption issue,” the principal challenge facing Palestinians “lies in defeating Arafat's stature as the ultimate leader of the Palestinian people, as a 'god' or godfather above accountability and transparency.”

When international donors demanded the appointment of a PA finance minister after embezzlement scandals, Najib notes, the Palestinian people benefited. Fraudulent business contracts to pay ghost employees were ended, workers received their wages in bank accounts and salaries were paid on time.

The European Union has a particular interest and responsibility. The European Commission and individual EU states are the largest providers of financial and technical assistance to the PA, providing over 50 percent of all international financing for the West Bank and the Gaza since 1994. In the last 10 years the Commission spent 1.8bn (£1.2bn) in the territories and EU member states provided 2.5bn (£1.7bn) in bilateral assistance to the PA. While EU funds largely cover humanitarian relief, huge sums have been allocated to develop institutions and infrastructure for a future Palestinian state.

The recent crisis again raises the question whether there is a future for secular Palestinian nationalism. Helena Cobban, global-affairs columnist for The Christian Science Monitor and Al-Hayat, believes “the 50-year era in which Arafat and the predominantly secular activists dominated the Palestinian movement has now come to an end.” She believes “a new generation of more disciplined, tougher men are preparing for their moment” and quotes a leading Palestinian activist on rising power of Islamist groups: "They are always there. Much more disciplined, much more serious than any of the secular factions, and very popular. Look, nowadays there is no way that the PA can survive politically without entering into a broad-based coalition with Hamas."

Egypt's New Government To Pursue Economic Liberalization,
not Political Reform
Egypt's new government was sworn in July 14, with President Hosni Mubarak's son and heir-apparent Gamal in charge of economic policy. The government, headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, is described as “a mix of old guard and pro-reform figures.” With an ailing economy afflicted by high inflation and skyrocketing unemployment, economic liberalization rather than political reform will be the priority.

Ministers linked to Gamal Mubarak, 42, known as the "Gamal Gang," include Rashid Mohammed Rashid, a board member of Unilever who received the industry and foreign trade portfolio, and Ahmed al-Maghrabi, an executive of French tourism giant Accor. But they are largely reformist technocrats, favoring “modernization” rather than democratization. Better governance--including less corruption--and liberalization of the economy take precedence.

Yet the government is suffering an acute crisis of legitimacy due to high unemployment and inflation, endemic corruption, and official negligence. There is also a sense that Egypt has “lost its position as a leading player in international affairs” after failing to influence the war in Iraq and seeing Mubarak's strategy for regional reform rejected by the recent meeting of the Arab League.

However, recognizing external pressure and domestic discontent, President Mubarak told his ruling party's annual conference of plans to change Egypt. “Our meeting this year will be the first real test of our dedication to reform and modernize,” he said in a speech read by a minister. (Mubarak recently returned from hospital treatment in Germany). Citizenship and democracy was one of three key policy issues addressed by 2,000 delegates at the National Democratic Party's three-day annual conference this week at which Gamal Mubarak, head of the NDP's key policy-making committee will present a paper on democratisation.

Officials of the ruling NDP have suggested that political reform is imminent. "There will be legislative reforms regarding political participation and democratisation," said Safwat El-Sherif, the party's secretary-general. El-Sherif, recently elected head of the consultative Shura Council, said that "amending the constitution would be placed on the agenda of political reforms after democratization was deepened and important laws regarding elections and parties were modified."

NDP Assistant Secretary-General Kamal El-Shazli hinted at changes to the political parties law (40/1977) and the law on the exercise of political rights (73/1956). But many observers are skeptical, noting that similar reforms were proposed last year but never realized. In fact, NDP parliamentarians blocked several political reform bills initiated by opposition and independent MPs. The NDP also obstructed parliamentary debate on such issues as the government's reaction to the Alexandria Declaration.

Most observers remain skeptical of the NDP's will or ability to lead reform from above and are instead focused on nurturing bottom-up initiatives to broaden the base of hitherto marginalized or isolated pro-democracy groups and activists. A conference of some 300 intellectuals and activists, organized by the Ibn Khaldun human rights center, recently urged Mubarak to end his monopoly on power. Participants, who included Islamist, leftist and liberal elements, claimed external interference and the "comprehensive despotism” afflicting Egyptian society are two sides of the same coin. "The end of such [foreign interference] ... requires an immediate introduction of reforms, including an end to the monopolization of power,” said a petition which coincided with the new Cabinet being sworn in.

The petition demands constitutional reforms, including the "election of the president and vice president directly by the people for a period of no more than two successive terms to limit the unlimited powers of the president." The petition demands an end to "all exceptional laws restricting freedoms,” including emergency laws in place since 1981. Egypt's emergency laws, renewed in February 2003 for another three years, give the authorities wide powers to arrest, detain and bring civilians before military courts. The formation of political parties and newspapers are also legally restricted.

The conference differed from similar conferences held recently in Alexandria or Doha, by proposing specific follow-up mechanisms, including a joint committee of various reformist groups to promote political change.

Mubarak's Egypt was recently described as “a system of safety valves and controls, an autocracy that in some respects simulates civil society." While “political opponents cannot compete for real power, or make frontal attacks on the President in the press, but they can talk in apartments and cafés, they can run for seats in parliament and join the professional unions and the like.”

Unlike most other Arab states, Egypt has a liberal tradition older than its Pan-Arab and Islamist ideological rivals. Although liberal democratic forces remain weak in Egypt, the emergence of two new liberal daily newspapers and a nascent liberal party has prompted some observers to cautiously hint at a possible liberal resurgence.

Al-Masry Al-Youm (loosely translated as Egypt Today) and Nahdet Misr (Egyptian Renaissance) are the first independent dailies to appear in over 50 years. The new liberal party Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) recently applied for recognition by the official political parties committee. Mona Makram-Ebeid, the likely first secretary-general of Al-Ghad, believes “a powerful wave of nostalgia in Egypt has emerged for the 'liberal moment' in the country's politics.”

Egypt's "Torture Epidemic" Prompts Fine for Minister
A Cairo court fined Egyptian Interior Minister Habib el-Adli July 21 after a prisoner was tortured in a Cairo prison, reports the Egyptian Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP).

Adli was fined for the torture of Mostafa Ibrahim Amin, detained for membership of an Islamist group. The HRAAP, a grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy, said Adli was also fined on June 30 after a court found him responsible for the torture of another prisoner Badr Abdel Fattah Mohamed.

Egyptian law severely restricts nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The 2002 Law on Associations allows the Ministry of Social Affairs to deny legal status to NGOs considered to threaten “public order” or “public morals” or to be engaged in political work. The Ministry can supervise the activities and funding of registered NGOs, and to shut down organizations without a judicial order, and to imprison their officers.

“This is the latest of several victories for HRAAP,” says the NED's Daniel Cork, “both in Egypt's civil court system for compensation of torture victims as well as administrative court rulings ordering compensation for victims of wrongful detention.”

Human Rights Watch recently described Egypt as “suffering from an epidemic of torture” and condemned the government's threat to close down the only clinic for torture victims.

Slovakia Promotes Democratization in Belarus, Ukraine
Slovakia has appropriated a special fund of SK 10,000,000 (ca. $300,000) in its 2004 budget for democratization projects in Belarus and Ukraine. The decision is in line with Slovak foreign policy priorities. Slovakia shares a small but important border with Ukraine and is only 600 km from Belarus.

Slovakia believes its experience in a difficult transition from the authoritarian rule of Vladimír Meèiar to full EU and NATO membership holds valuable lessons for other “transition” states. The forthcoming October 2004 parliamentary elections in Belarus and presidential elections in Ukraine are key driving forces. By offering support for democratization in Belarus and Ukraine, the Slovak government believes it is taking the lead among new EU member states in assisting other post-communist countries in path of transition.

The Slovak-Belarus Task Force, a project of the Pontis Foundation's Institute for Civic Diplomacy, aims to strengthen links among independent think tanks and civil society organizations in Belarus and to define a strong economic reform strategy for the post-Lukashenka period. A new policy paper on "Democratization and Civil Society Development in Belarus" contains a summary of findings and recommendations of a recent policy roundtable in Minsk, and reports on meetings with representatives of the democratic opposition and civil society in Belarus.

Police arrested at least 30 protestors in the Belarusian capital Minsk on 21 July during an unauthorized protest against the authoritarian rule of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Over 2,000 protesters gathered for the 10-year anniversary of Lukashenka's rise to power. Lukashenka may seek a referendum on constitutional changes to allow him to run for a third term in office after his current term ends in 2006.

European Commission President Rejects EU as "Counterweight" to US
July 22: The European Parliament has confirmed former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso as the next president of the European Commission. The vote -- 413 votes to 251 with 44 abstentions--gives Barroso leadership of the 25-state European Union's executive agency.

Barroso, a student Maoist during Portugal's 1974-75 revolution, later joined the country's Social Democrats and was elected prime minister in 2002. A confirmed Atlanticist, Barroso rejects the notion of Europe as a counterweight to the United States. "It's stupid to see it as a counterweight. In some European countries, there's the idea we'll be independent if we're a counterweight. This is silly. It's counterpart, not contrepouvoir," Barroso insists. "What's strategically intelligent in building an identity against the United States?" he said.

The EU's new leader believes it is in the United States' strategic interest to have a strong Europe. ``We can be Europeans and argue for good transatlantic relations,'' he told the European parliament.“ The major European challenges are terrorism and threats to the environment, underdevelopment, epidemics. None of these things will be conquered alone.''

In the election for the presidency of the European Parliament, Catalan socialist Josep Borrell defeated the Polish liberal Bronislaw Geremek, a founder of Solidarnosc. Daniel Cohn-Bendit, leader of the Parliament's Greens, described Borrell's campaign against Geremek as that of "an insignificant bureaucrat against a historic figure."

Different Foreign Policy Tracks for US and EU?
“A division of labor whereby the US employs military force and Europe uses other policy instruments will gradually divide the US from Europe,” says Richard Haass, former Director of Policy Planning in the US State Department. “Europeans lean toward dialogue and incentives, the US toward isolation and penalties”, says Haass, currently President of the US-based Council on Foreign Relations. But Europeans must admit that effective diplomacy requires credibility - a willingness to use sanctions and military force – and not only dialogue and incentives.

America needs to consult more widely and seriously, Haass avers, and must consider alternative strategies such as the use of incentives as well as sanctions. But Europeans should “shed their illusions” about Europe as a countervailing power to the US. “Loose talk about resurrecting a multi-polar world is just that - loose talk. It is neither feasible nor desirable for Europe to establish itself as a geopolitical equal or competitor of the US.”

Cold War Group Revived to Confront New "Totalitarian" Threat
The Committee on the Present Danger, a leading Cold War pressure group, has been revived to confront the threat from radical Islamism. The CPD was relaunched this week in Washington, DC, as a bipartisan initiative, engaging Democrats, Republicans and independents to combat what CPD chairman James Woolsey calls "a totalitarian movement masquerading as a religion." "We understand very well that this time, the danger that we must address is a danger to the United States but also a danger to democracy and civil society throughout the world,” he said.

Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman explained the rationale for the group. "We fear that many Americans may not fully understand the long-term goals of the enemy we face, and those are deadly totalitarian goals,” he said. Senator John Kyl, a Republican from the state of Arizona, said "the implicit assumption here is that it will take a long time to win this war, just as it did the Cold War. And I think anyone would be deluding themselves, frankly, to think otherwise."

John Gaddis, a Cold War scholar and Yale University professor, questions the Cold War analogy. “It's going to depend on whom their target is, because the target was always clear [in the Cold War],” he says. “Are these guys supporting the neoconservative agenda of trying to promote democracy throughout the Middle East? If so, some of our own allies are the targets.”

But Jeane Kirkpatrick, a former US ambassador to the United Nations and a member of the earlier CPD suggests its mission will gain clarity “as events develop over the next months. Unfortunately, I think a significant number of those events are likely to concern terrorism. But they will also concern democracy-building.”

ERRATUM
In the report on the democracy assistance conference at The Hague in the last issue of Democracy Digest, due to a transcription error we mistakenly attributed to the Westminster Foundation's David French the view that European initiatives should not be presented as a “counterpart” to American initiatives. This should have read that European initiatives should not be “counterpoised” to American initiatives--the opposite of the meaning conveyed. We apologize for the mistake.


INFORMATION

Democratization in Middle East: Turkish Assessment
The German Marshall Fund has published “The Debate on Democratization in the Broader Middle East and North Africa: A Civic Assessment from Turkey.” The report was written by four Turkish experts who consider the lessons of their country's successful experience with democratization for the region as a whole. Click here for the full text.

Rights & Democracy: Online Bulletin
Libertas, the Web-based bulletin of Rights & Democracy is now online. To consult this new edition in details, copy and paste the following link on your web browser: http://www.dd-rd.ca/%20english/commdoc/publications/libertasOnLine/LOLJuly2004//Main.html.

Journal of Democracy: Russian Democracy in Eclipse
The Journal of Democracy has published its July 2004 issue.The featured article is "Russian Democracy in Eclipse: Force, Money, and Pluralism" by Stephen Sestanovich, the full text of which is available at: www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/Sestanovich-15-3.pdf.

OPPORTUNITIES

National Endowment for Democracy
Fellowship
The National Endowment for Democracy invites applications to its Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program, based at NED's International Forum for Democratic Studies, in Washington, D.C. The program offers two tracks: a practitioner track (typically 3-5 months) to improve strategies and techniques for building democracy abroad and to exchange ideas and experiences with counterparts in the United States; and a scholarly track (typically 5-10 months) to conduct original research for publication. The Fellows Program is intended primarily to support practitioners and scholars from new and aspiring democracies. Distinguished scholars from the US and other established democracies can also apply. Practitioners will have substantial experience working to promote democracy. Scholars will have a doctorate, or academic equivalent, at the time of application. The program is not designed to support students working toward a degree. A working knowledge of English is required.   For further details and instructions on how to apply, please download the "Information and Application Forms" bookletavailable online at www.ned.org/forum/R-FApplication.pdf or visit www.ned.org and follow the link to Fellowship Programs.  Applications for fellowships in 2005-2006 must be received no later than November 1, 2004.

National Endowment for Democracy
Program Assistant for Central and Eastern Europe
The National Endowment for Democracy is conducting a search for a Program Assistant for Central and Eastern Europe to be based in Washington, D.C. The Program Assistant's duties will include providing support for approval and disbursement of grants to nongovernmental organizations working on democracy issues in the Central and Eastern Europe, primarily in the Balkan region; assisting the Program staff with general administrative duties; researching and preparing information about potential grantees and current political developments in the region; maintaining contacts with the region; organizing meetings for visiting grantees; and representing the NED at public conferences and meetings. Applicants should send a resume, cover letter, a brief 1-2 page writing sample, and contact information for three references by August 6, 2004, to: Central and Eastern Europe Program Assistant Search Email (preferred; specify position title in the subject line): jobs@ned.org. Mail: National Endowment for Democracy 1101 15th Street N.W., Suite 800 Washington, D.C. 20005 Fax: 202-293-0258. No phone calls please.

International Republican Institute
Resident Country Director: Bolivia
The International Republican Institute is seeking to appoint a Resident Country Director (RCD) with responsibility for designing and implementing a strategy for IRI's program in Bolivia. S/he will design and implement a strategy to increase the legitimacy of political parties through direct work with civil society and the creation of bridges between civil society and political parties; develop long range and annual plans for the country program; identify key players and partners in IRI programs; develop strategies for political party capacity-building, coalition-building, election-monitoring and voter education activities; and also oversee individual project implementation. For further details, contact: IRI, HR Dept/RCD Bolivia, 1225 Eye Street, N.W., Ste. 700 Washington, D.C. 20005. FAX: (202) 408-9462. E-mail: personnel@iri.org

Freedom House
Editor: Budapest
Freedom House, America's oldest non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and defending democracy and freedom worldwide, seeks an Editor for its Nations in Transit publication based in Budapest, Hungary. The Editor will take the lead on research, editorial, logistical, and administrative oversight for publication of Nations in Transit. Duties will include, but are not limited to: identifying and working with country report writers and academic advisers, evaluating reports for quality and accuracy, overseeing copy and line editing revisions and publication development, conducting related research for studies and reports, and preparing NIT related events. The appropriate candidate should have knowledge of human rights and democratic transition issues; knowledge of CEE/SEE/NIS region; demonstrated analytical capacity in writing and methodology and be a native English speaker. He/she should have experience in research and writing on human rights and democratic transition issues; experience in publishing/writing; analytical experience with indices/trends analysis. Bachelor's degree required; Master's level preferred. Please submit resume and cover letter with salary history to: Human Resources, e-mail: humanresources@freedomhouse.org, fax: 202-296-5078. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Only candidates who have been selected for an interview will be notified. Phone: fax: 202-296-5078. Apply by: August 22, 2004,

Freedom House
Program Assistant: Budapest
Freedom House also seeks a Program Assistant for its Regional Networking Project based in Budapest, Hungary. The Program Assistant will be responsible for general programmatic and administrative support in the implementation of the NGO Regional Networking Project. Duties will include but are not limited to: processing incoming proposals; drafting correspondence; assisting in conducting grantee monitoring; handling logistical arrangements for programs; assisting with workshops and special projects; assisting in office financial reporting; and assisting with the development and implementation of FH's regional public outreach strategy. Please submit resume and cover letter to: e-mail: FH@freedomhouse.hu, fax: +36-1-354-1233. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Apply by: August 22, 2004.

AFL-CIO Solidarity Center
Program Officers and Program Assistants (Middle East)
The AFL-CIO has vacancies for program officers to work on its Middle East program. Responsibilities include support to field offices and programs, writing persuasive proposals, describing complex activities and developing budgets for those activities. Applicants should be thoroughly conversant with all aspects of regional program activities and current events relevant to the on-going political, economic, social and trade union developments in the region. Full details at: www.unionjobs.com/staff/dc/aflsol-62.html or send cover letter and résumé to: Lisa Humphries, Human Resources Officer, Solidarity Center, 1925 K Street, N.W., Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20006. E-mail: mailto:lhumphries@solidaritycenter.org.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

August 22 to September 3, 2004, Graz Austria
European Training and Research Centre (ETC) Summer Academy
ETC Summer Academy on "Human rights and human security," with a special focus on post-conflict situations. Contact: European Training and Research Centre (ETC) for Human Rights and Democracy, Graz. E-mail: Contact: IT Ministerial Council and the Democracy Committee, which represents Nordic governments. Contact: Nordic Council, Copenhagen, http://www.norden.org/. E-mail: info@norden.org.  

August, 27, 2004, Copenhagen, Denmark
Democracy in the IT Society"
Contact: Nordic Council, Store Copenhagen. http://www.norden.org/. E-mail: mailto:info@norden.org

August 31 to September 3, 2004, Steyning, United Kingdom
"Economic reform in the Middle East: What needs to be done?".
Contact: Wilton Park Conferences, http://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/web/welcome.htmllorraine.jones@wiltonpark.org.uk.

CALLS FOR PROPOSALS

European Commission: Projects to Promote Human Rights and Democracy
Serbia and Montenegro
The European Commission delegation to Serbia and Montenegro is seeking proposals for small-scale financial support for initiatives aimed to promote and protect human rights and democracy in Serbia and Montenegro with financial assistance from the EIDHR micro-projects programme of the European Communities.  The application form, as well as all other documents such as the budget and the logical framework can be downloaded from the Delegation's website at: http://www.delscg.cec.eu.int/. Requests for information should be addressed to the European Commission Delegation to Serbia and Montenegro ONLY. The deadline for submission of proposals for applicants from Serbia and Montenegro is Wednesday 15 September 2004 at 16.00 Belgrade time. The European Commission is also seeking proposals for small-scale financial support for initiatives aimed to promote and protect human rights and democracy in the following countries. To get the full guidelines for applicants, contact the Delegation of the European Commission at the designated local addresses.

Nepal
  The Delegation of the European Commission to Nepal is seeking proposals for small-scale financial support for initiatives aimed to promote and protect human rights as well as democracy in Nepal. To get the full guidelines for applicants, e-mail the Delegation of the European Commission to Nepal at: Delegation-Nepal-EIDHR@cec.eu.int or fax number: 01 4423541; and at: www.delind.cec.eu.int/index.htm. The deadline for submission of proposals for applicants from Nepal is Monday 30 August 2004 at 16.00 India time.  

Ivory Coast
The Delegation of the European Commission to Ivory Coast is seeking proposals for small-scale financial support for initiatives aimed to promote and protect human rights as well as democracy in Ivory Coast. All the necessary documents for applicants are available at: Délégation de la Commission Européenne (DCE) à Abidjan, Av. du Dr. Crozet, 18, Immeuble Azur, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The deadline for submission of proposals for applicants from Ivory Coast is Monday 16 August 2004 at 16.00 Abidjan time.  

Colombia
The Delegation of the European Commission to Colombia and Ecuador is seeking proposals for small-scale financial support for initiatives aimed to promote and protect human rights as well as democracy in Colombia. The full Guidelines for Applicants are available for consultation at: file:///U:/Transatlantic%20Committee%20for%20Democracy/Dem%20Digest/Democracy%20Digest%20July%2023%202004/http//:www.delcol.cec.eu.int. The deadline for submission of proposals for applicants from Colombia is 3 August 2004 at 16.00 Bogota time.  

China and Mongolia
The Delegation of the European Commission to China and Mongolia is seeking proposals for small-scale financial support for initiatives aimed to promote and protect human rights as well as democracy in China with financial assistance from the EIDHR micro-projects programme of the European Communities. The full Guidelines for Applicants are available for consultation at: http://www.delchn.cec.eu.int/ and at: Delegation of the European Commission to China & Mongolia Development and Co-operation Section, 4th Floor, Qian Kun Mansion, 6 Sanlitun Xi Liu Jie, Beijing 100027 China. Contact Person: Petra Kiel.  

Kyrgyzstan
The Delegation of the European Commission in Kazakhstan accredited to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is seeking proposals for small-scale financial support for initiatives aimed to promote and protect human rights as well as democracy and governance strengthening in Kyrgyzstan. The full Guidelines for Applicants are available for consultation at: http://www.delkaz.cec.eu.int/ and at: EU Delegation of the European Commission in Kazakhstan, 20 A Kazibek Bi 480100, Almaty, Kazakhstan. Telephone: (3272) 917 676, Fax : (3272) 910 749, E-mail : eudel@delkaz.cec.eu.int and delegation-kazakhstan-eidhr@cec.eu.int.  The deadline for submission of proposals for applicants from Kyrgyzstan is July 30, 2004 at 16.00 Almaty time.

Mozambique
On 10 May 2004, the European Commission Delegation to Mozambique officially launched a Call for Proposals for micro-projects (Ref: EuropeAid/119-873/L/G/MZ). The deadline for receipt of proposals by the Delegation to Mozambique ONLY is Thursday, 22 July 2004, 16.00 Maputo time. Any application received by the Delegation after this deadline will not be considered. All necessary documents can be downloaded from the Delegation's website at:  http://www.delmoz.cec.eu.int/. Questions should be sent by email, clearly indicating the reference number, to: Delegation-Mozambique-IEDDH@cec.eu.int or by fax at the following N°: +258 1 49 18 66.  

Indonesia
On 5 May 2004, the European Commission Delegation to Indonesia officially launched the 2nd Call for Proposals for micro-projects (Ref: EuropeAid/119761/L/G/ID). The deadline for receipt of proposals by the delegation to Indonesia ONLY is Wednesday, 4 August 2004, 16.00 Jakarta time. All necessary documents can be downloaded from the Delegation's website at:  www.delidn.cec.eu.int/eidhr Questions should be sent by email, clearly indicating the reference number, to the following address: delegation-indonesia-eidhr@cec.eu.int


 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

2005 International Activist Award
The Gleitsman Foundation is inviting nominations for the 2005 International Activist Award, established in 1989 with the goal of inspiring greater grass-roots activism by recognizing the exceptional achievements of people who have initiated social change. The foundation is seeking those individuals whose energy and courage have inspired others to join with them in confronting and challenging injustice. Further details at: http://www.gleitsman.org/.

National Endowment for Democracy
New Arabic Resource Database
The Middle East and North Africa Program at the National Endowment for Democracy is soliciting submissions to a new Arabic-language resource database that will serve as a resource for democrats and nongovernmental organizations in the Middle East and North Africa. The Program is in the process of identifying and cataloguing how-to manuals, reference publications, and other related materials (mainly online) that address a wide array of democracy topics, including freedom of information, political processes, democratic ideas and values, strengthening political institutions, accountability, human rights, rule of law, civic education, NGO strengthening and capacity building, freedom of association, free markets, and conflict resolution. NED welcomes submissions, including addresses of Web sites and/or documents, preferably in Arabic. To make a submission, e-mail: kareemad@ned.org.  

Democracy Digest Welcomes Your Cooperation

Democracy Digest welcomes cooperation from organizations and individuals in building circulation and in obtaining articles, speeches, web site addresses, organizational statements and other materials that may be of interest to readers. Our effort has just begun. Organizations that have so far agreed to cooperate include: Aspen Institute Berlin; the Center for Study of Islam and Democracy; Council for a Community of Democracies; FAES Fundacion (Spain); the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly(Turkey); the Institute for Political Studies at the Catholic University of Portugal; No Peace Without Justice [Italy]; People in Need Foundation (Czech Republic); Polish Helsinki Foundation on Human Rights, Droits et Democratie (Canada).

We also seek information that may be useful to those engaged in democracy support activities: dates of conferences and seminars, the availability of resources, job openings, etc. Please e-mail us at: demdigest@freedomhouse.org. We will offer some of this information in the Digest and more on our web site, demdigest.net, which is currently under construction.

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