Democracy Promotion Support Stronger in Europe, Survey Finds
While most Europeans are wary of US global dominance and the current Administration in particular, they are nevertheless keen on promoting democracy, the principal theme of President George W. Bush's foreign policy. But American Democrats are less enthusiastic than Europeans and Republicans, according to a Transatlantic Trends survey from the German Marshall Fund. The survey is based on polling data from the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey.

Some 74% of Europeans believe their governments should promote democracy in other countries, compared to 22 percent who disagreed. By contrast, only 51% of Americans did so -- 76% of Republicans and 43% of Democrats. The low level of support for democracy promotion amongst Democrats is probably due to its association with the Bush Administration since support levels rise when reference shifts from policy to specific instruments such as election monitoring and NGO funding. Both Americans and Europeans prefer such "soft" approaches to military intervention as a means of spreading democracy. Small majorities -– 52% in the US and 54% in Europe –- support economic sanctions against China over human rights violations.

The survey provides some evidence for the argument that “the language of democratization is gaining a grip on the global imagination.” The US commitment to democracy promotion “will not go away –- in this Administration or the next,” continues Die Zeit's Josef Joffe, because events from Georgia to Lebanon suggest that it is working. But democracy promotion is “at best a partial response” to the challenges facing the US, argues Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor, also writing in the inaugural issue of The American Interest. “Democracy per se is not an enduring solution,” he suggests, “for without a socially developing and politically mature civil society, a hasty imposition of democratic processes -– for example, in the Middle East -– is likely to be exploited by radically resentful populism.”

Egypt: Flawed Election But. . .
Egypt's presidential election produced a familiar scenario: a victory for an incumbent benefiting from dubious electoral practices and the mobilization of state resources. Official results gave President Hosni Mubarak 88.5 percent of the vote on a turnout of only 23 percent, with the 6.3 million pro-Mubarak voters representing just 8.6 percent of the population. But the election, prompted by domestic opposition and external pressure, has accelerated the mobilization of civil society, political parties and newly independent media which suggest that the legislative elections scheduled for November will be more conducive to democratic reform. “This election was just a drill, which the government would never have accepted without foreign badgering,” an Egyptian official concedes. “But it sets the stage for parliamentary elections that may get really interesting.”

Mubarak's closet rival, Ayman Nour of the liberal Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, initially sought to get the Presidential Election Commission to delay validating the result. Hafez Abu Seada, secretary-general of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, also demanded an investigation into reported violations but conceded they were not substantial enough to cast doubt on the result. "This is not about winning or losing, but about due process," said Ghad representative Hisham Kassem. "Whether we got 1 percent or 51 percent, if you feel the process is flawed, we are going to take legal measures." Yet the result is in some ways less important than the election acting as a catalyst for further democratization. "We have a process going,” says Kassem. “There is no turning back."

The election signaled "progress for democracy in Egypt" and was evidence of "widening democratic practice in the Arab world," said European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana. Calling the election “an important step toward holding fully free and fair competitive multi-party elections," a White House spokesman highlighted flaws in the voting system that should be fixed for November's parliamentary election. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the poll was just "one step in the march toward the full democracy," warning that "more needs to be done to increase the voice of the people and their confidence in the democratic process." Independent observers noted that with restrictions on opposition candidates, a ban on independent monitoring and low turnout, the election set “a low benchmark even by some regional standards.”

Most observers had anticipated a badly-flawed election. Prior to the poll, Egyptian rights groups failed to secure an injunction requiring independent monitors, anticipating that fraud was likely. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights said the attitude of the Presidential Election Commission on election monitoring raised “doubts and suspicion.” "If we cannot enter the polling stations, this will make us very doubtful about the result of the elections,” Nasser Amin of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary, had said. "No election can be called free, fair and transparent if voters have been denied the right to monitor and scrutinize the process," was the verdict of the Independent Committee for Election Monitoring, citing violations from ballot stuffing to vote buying to voter intimidation.

Even commentators close to the regime accept it was a mistake to exclude independent monitors. “Allowing local NGOs to monitor the polls would have contributed to enhancing democratisation by stimulating the more active participation of civil society,” Al-Ahram's Ibrahim Nafie conceded.

. . . But Democratic Opposition Gains
One of the most positive results of the election is the enhanced profile of Egypt's liberal democrats. Nour came a strong second with 540,000 votes - more than twice as many as Nomaan Gomaa, candidate of the third-placed and longer-established Wafd liberal party. "Ayman Nour and the Ghad party gave the elections weight," says Hala Mustafa, editor of Al-Dimuqratiya. "It's the first time a liberal party has been represented since 1952. The Ghad represents something fresh, a new generation of thought."

"The real winner is civil society," said civil society activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim. The election had "cut down the image of Hosni Mubarak to human size-he's no longer beyond criticism", he noted.

Pro-democracy reformers had no illusions about the nature of the election but recognized that it opened up political space and created opportunities for mobilization. "Are they committed to change? The answer is no," said Ghad's Kassem. "They have to give the impression of free and fair elections. But practically, they are very far from that." Reformers also took heart from the vibrancy and confidence of emerging civil society groups which used the election to mobilize beyond the ranks of urban liberal elites.

Ghada Shahbender, spokeswoman for the independent monitor Shayfeencom, said her group mobilized 400 people to observe the vote and even persuaded some judges to engage with them. Shahbender typifies a new generation of activists motivated by the election and recent mobilizations by the anti-Mubarak opposition, including the emergence of a genuinely independent and investigative liberal press. "For years people have not been actively involved in politics because they have lost confidence in the process," says Shahbender. "Someone has to do something about it, and it will become a much better process with more participation."

Yet the election exposed not only problems with the electoral process but also the bankruptcy of the ruling National Democratic Party. Mubarak's campaign was notably long on slogans and short on detailed policy prescriptions, particularly for addressing the rampant unemployment and corruption that emerged as key concerns of the electorate. "The NDP has shown itself to be lacking both the imagination, and the will, to address the fundamental problems besetting Egypt's political and economic life,” says Nabil Abdel-Fattah of Cairo's Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. “It has failed to acknowledge that these very problems are a result of the failed policies of the past 24 years."

Some NDP leaders are clearly tempted by the prospect of a “Chinese model” of elite-friendly and market-driven technocratic change within an authoritarian framework. “The Soviet Communists were not able to adapt to new realities and for this reason they collapsed. The Chinese, however, have proved able to change from within,” a reformist NDP member told the Financial Times. “The transition will not be easy and it will not necessarily be peaceful, because resistance is still very powerful and we will still have a wide net of corruption.” Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine ben Ali has shown the region's regimes how to maintain authoritarian rule for decades while allowing multi-candidate presidential elections which legitimize the regime without allowing genuine choice.

Despite the flaws in the process, notes one observer, in all future elections Egypt's voters will now at least have a choice. "A six-decade old taboo has been smashed: the leader himself can be openly challenged with his fate decided by voters rather than army chiefs," notes Amir Taheri, writing in the independent Arab daily Asharq al Awsat. Furthermore, although a new electoral law prohibits independent candidates, even this has an upside. "It obliges Egyptians to get organised in parties thus giving their evolving political life some of the structures it needs," says Taheri, and "prevents radical religious groups to masquerade as political organisations behind this or that falsely independent candidate."

“What is happening in Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan is illustrative of the state of affairs throughout the Middle East,” says Steven Cook, an analyst at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations. “Not a pretty picture of democracy on the march, but rather of the all-too-familiar image of regimes using their considerable power to manage, deflect, co-opt, and repress opposition under the guise of reform.” Observers will know that “something truly profound” is happening in the region when political parties are allowed to organize freely and national parliaments assert themselves against powerful executive branches.

Protests Widen Base But NGOs Still Harassed
The electoral campaign showed that Egypt's civil society groups are becoming increasingly active as the democratic opposition widens its base and a previously quiescent judiciary asserts its independence. Judges had insisted that they would only supervise the Presidential elections if judicial autonomy was respected and their supervision rights unimpeded.

Journalists have complained that newspaper editors are uniformly appointed by the government and inject pro-regime bias into political reporting. "We want independence of the press and freedom of publication for newspapers, and the election of heads of public newspapers by their general assemblies," demanded Karem Yehya, of Al-Ahram newspaper. The EU recently awarded Egypt's official television grants of $31 million to boost freedom of expression. The conditions require that official channels air programs that promote freedoms, democracy and political reforms and ensure a balanced coverage of the upcoming elections.

The newly vibrant opposition is expanding its agenda and base, as workers and unions joined reformists' protests for the first time over the summer. Some 2,000 Kifaya activists demonstrated to denounce unemployment and reject a new mandate for Mubarak. But the democratic opposition, disproportionately comprising urban professionals and intellectuals, recognizes the need to diversify its active membership. "The demonstrations are not enough to initiate a democratic reform process," one Kifaya leader concedes. "We have to reach out to the average Egyptian citizen."

After declining numbers at recent protests, Kifaya re-affirmed its capacity to mobilize, reportedly bussing in demonstrators from over 20 governorates to the historically symbolic Abdeen Square, the site of major anti-colonial protests in the early 20th century. The demonstrations were also Kifaya's first attempt to articulate social concerns and mobilize labour. Workers have been showing greater restlessness chafing against controls imposed by the state-controlled unions. The frequency of strikes has increased and while 743 protests occurred between 1998 and 2003, there was nearly one a day in 2004.

At one protest, Kamal Abbas, director of the Center for Trade Union and Worker's Services, denounced the official unions' leader for endorsing Mubarak's re-election "on behalf of Egypt's 20 million workers." Opposition politicians, eager to broaden the reformists' base, recognize that "current calls for democracy don't even come close to touching on working class concerns" while labor groups are asserting their right to organize independently. Civil society groups also joined forces with human rights groups to form a new alliance to monitor the presidential elections.

Yet Egyptian NGOs remain constrained by restrictive laws and the "extra-legal" actions of the Security Services, says a new report from Human Rights Watch. Civil society groups face severe restrictions under the law governing NGOs. The security services also scrutinise and harass civil society activists even though the law does not accord them any such powers," says the 45-page report, "Margins of Repression: State Limits on Nongovernmental Organisation Activism." The report cites instances of the security services rejecting NGO registrations, determining the composition of NGO boards, harassing activists, and interfering with funding for civil society groups.

External Pressure Plays a Role
Egypt's current democratic ferment is distinctive, according to one regional observer, because the "ordinary people and political elites that actively confront the established power structure are being assisted in part by foreign direct pressure on the ruling power structure, mainly from Washington."

"We did not have a robust democracy programme until recently in Egypt because from the foreign policy point of view we were told by the State Department that's not what our focus should be," concedes Andrew Natsios, administrator of the US Agency for International Development. "It is now and so there is a shift going on." USAID previously allowed Egyptian authorities to veto funds for any civil society group. "They didn't like democracy funding and they didn't approve it. They believed in tight control over civil society."

The US Congress now requires that part of its economic aid package to Egypt is devoted to promoting democracy, human rights, and economic reform. In addition to $US1.3 billion in military aid in 2006, $495 million will be committed to civilian programs, of which at least $50 million for the advancement of democracy, and another $50 million for education. Such civil society funds will be transferred to Egyptian NGOs rather than the government. The US is treading a fine line. It wants to send Egypt a signal "that we find their human rights record to be an embarrassment," says Wisconsin Representative David Obey a leading Appropriations Committee Democrat, "without thoroughly upsetting the administration's ability to continue to . . . move what is left of the peace process forward."

The European Union is using its new European Neighborhood Policy, directly linking financial aid to progress on the country's Action Plan for meeting targets on free trade, human rights and political reform. EU external affairs commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner insists the EU will not impose reforms but the ENP, which succeeds the Barcelona Process, does require proof of progress. "We give them their own pace, but we cannot ignore the importance of democratic reforms and we do not ignore that," she says.

Yet some local commentators are skeptical "This is the EU's habit: They launch a new policy every 10 years or so," says Ahmed Ghoneim, an economics professor at Cairo University. "I am not optimistic about the ENP after Barcelona did nothing," he suggests. Prospects for promoting sustainable democratization will partly depend on US and EU commitment to pressure the regime to level the political playing field and allow opposition forces to function and mobilize without fear or repression.

Democracy Promotion Not Regime Change, Conference Told
Promoting democracy should be a “core business” of foreign policy and an obligation for consolidated democracies, says a leading European practitioner. “Democracy promotion is still too much of an add-on in foreign policy,” complained Roel von Meijenfeldt, executive director of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, addressing the 7th World Meeting of democracy promotion foundations in Stockholm.

The meeting heard that consolidated democracies are in fact assuming a greater role in democracy promotion, with the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia notably energetic in this field. The joint Georgian-Ukrainian Borjomi Declaration, a significant initiative at the regional level, calls for European and Euro-Atlantic integration to be extended to the Baltic-Black Sea-Caspian area, and suggests the region's leaders should create a new Community of Democratic Choice.

Meijenfeldt's sharp distinction between regime change and democracy assistance was shared by Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy. Noting that some in the international community “wish to de-legitimate democracy assistance by equating it with regime change,” he warned of “a concerted backlash against internal democracy movements as well as against international democracy assistance, which is being portrayed as an aggressive and illegitimate form of intervention. ”Uzbekistan, China, Belarus and Venezuela, each provide instances of pro-democracy groups being harassed, intimidated or prosecuted.

Solidarity Legacy a Transatlantic Affair
The recent anniversary of Poland's Solidarity movement prompted widespread reflection and analysis. The movement's legacy still holds important lessons for Europeans, argues Timothy Garton-Ash, especially those who remain wary of US assertiveness in promoting democracy. “The last thing we should do …is to leave talking of freedom entirely to Americans,” he insists. “After all, Solidarnosc is just one of many cases where Europeans have been on the front line” in fighting for what European Commission president José Manuel Barroso, calls "a worldwide movement to freedom."

For one leading Atlanticist, Solidarity's role as a catalyst in Communism's collapse has clear lessons for efforts to democratize the broader Middle East. “We are not so naïve as to believe that democracy occurs instantly in all countries at the same pace and is exactly alike,” notes Daniel Fried, US Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs. “But it does mean that the old argument that certain countries are civilizationally ill-disposed to democracy is demonstrably false.”

Bronislaw Geremek, a leading figure in Solidarity, believes the movement confirmed the importance of political courage and imagination, of public participation, non-violence and pragmatic negotiation. He reminds us that during Solidarity's ascendancy, the violence was only on the side of the regime.

“I have studied many social movements, but I have never been as impressed as I was with Solidarity,” Alan Touraine, one of France's leading sociologists told Der Spiegel Touraine worked closely with the opposition leaders who founded the Communist bloc's first independent trade union.

EU's UK Presidency Should Intercede in Cuba Crackdown - RSF
Following the arrest of several independent journalists in Cuba several have been arrested, Reporters Without Borders has expressed its concern to the British government, the current holder of the European Union presidency. “Cuba is currently the world's second biggest prison for the press,” says the media freedom NGO, with 24 journalists imprisoned. Albert Santiago Du Bouchet Fernández, a member of the board of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society's magazine, was sentenced to a year in prison after a summary trial on 9 August. He was accused of civil disobedience and resisting the authorities while covering unrest in a Havana province. Lamasiel Gutiérrez Romero of the Nueva Prensa Cubana agency was convicted on similar charges and sentenced to seven months of "conditional freedom." RSF also expressed concern over the plight of González Pérez of the Grupo de Trabajo Decoro independent news agency, who is awaiting trial more than 50 days after his arrest. The group warns that the EU should not let symbolic gestures by the regime, like allowing the Assembly to Promote Civil Society to meet in May, to distract it from holding Havana accountable for continuing human rights abuses. The international community needs to prove that while taking a moral high ground on Burma's crisis; it must also offer concrete ideas and approaches to advance the democratization and national reconciliation process beyond the current policy of sanctions and boycott.

NEWS IN BRIEF

EU Senior Diplomat Off to Belarus
Concern about human rights abuses has prompted the European Commission to send a charge d'affaires to Belarus in what Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said was a clear message in support of democracy and human rights. The move follows complaints from Poland about the authoritarian regime of Alexander Lukashenko extending new controls over political and non-political organisations. Brussels is ready to encourage political reforms and to provide NGOs with financial support, Barroso said.

The Commission is also preparing a €2 million media access project to increase the availability of independent news and information. The commission recently granted a €138,000 (US$171,000) contract to Deutsche Welle Radio to broadcast via radio and Internet into Belarus. “Over the past years independent media coverage in Belarus has met increasingly tight restrictions,” said EU Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner. “This initiative will … increase awareness of the deteriorating situation of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in their country.” The EU initiative followed the release of an open letter from Václav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic, and other senior public figures, demanding that the EU take action.

Yahoo Aids Beijing in Prosecuting Journalist
Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based media freedom group, has accused Yahoo, the US internet portal, of helping Chinese authorities prosecute a journalist convicted of leaking state secrets. The firm this week admitted that it did so, claiming that it was only obeying the law. “It is one thing to turn a blind eye to the Chinese government's abuses and it is quite another thing to collaborate,” says the media watchdog.

Yahoo has permitted censorship of the Chinese version of its search engine for years. In 2002 the firm signed a “self-discipline” pledge to refrain from posting “pernicious information that may jeopardise state security.” Just last month Yahoo got Beijing's permission to buy a 40% stake in China's largest online commerce company. Google and Microsoft have also been criticized for similar practices in China.

New NGO law threatens Eritrean civil society
The global civil society group CIVICUS has expressed deep concern about a new law restricting NGOs in Eritrea. The NGO Administration Proclamation imposes taxes on aid, restricts NGOs to relief and rehabilitation work, increases reporting requirements for foreign and local organisations and limits international agencies from directly funding local NGOs.  

Non-Muslim Heads Gulf Human Rights Group
A Bahraini Jewish woman, Huda Azra Noono, has been elected to head the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, a first for a non-Muslim in a Gulf state.

North Korea Report Prompts Dispute
The U.S. Committee on Human Rights in North Korea has released a report, Hunger and Human Rights: The Politics of Famine in North Korea, written by Professor Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland. The South Korean Ministry of Unification took exception to their characterization of their aid program, which is less rigorous than the one undertaken under United Nations auspices by the World Food Program (WFP), and posted a commentary on their website which misrepresents the Committee's position. 

The stakes are significant: the North Korean regime recently requested that humanitarian aid programs cease operation by the end of the year but stated that it was open to accepting bilateral assistance. This raises the risk that less rigorous South Korean and Chinese bilateral programs will in effect crowd out the more rigorous WFP program. The Committee's response to South Korean complaints is available here.

RESOURCES

Journal of Democracy
The latest issue of the Journal of Democracy features articles on 'Transitions from Postcommunism' by Michael McFaul who tries to identify factors common to each case of recent democratic breakthroughs in post-communist societies as varied as Serbia, Georgia, and Ukraine. In an article examining International Linkage and Democratization, Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way suggest that while the role of international factors varied greatly across post–Cold War democratic transitions, the intensity and results of external democratizing pressure depended on linkage to the West and Western leverage. A cluster of features on the New Iraq include assessments of Democratic Institutions and Performance by Adeed Dawisha, the Sistani Factor by Ahmed H. al-Rahim and the Uses of Historical Memory by Eric Davis. Digest readers will also be interested to read Sultan Tepe on Turkey's AKP: A Model "Muslim-Democratic" Party? and Mark Tessler and Eleanor Gao's confirmation, in Gauging Arab Support for Democracy, that despite the prevalence of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, opinion surveys show high levels of popular support for democracy.

Middle East Good Governance Fund
A Middle East Good Governance Fund is being established by Canada's International Development Research Centre to take advantage of emerging opportunities to advance reforms and strengthen governance across the region. The fund will support research and related activities that analyse civil society's role in good governance; identify potential agents of change within civil society and build their capacity to promote good governance; analyse and promote linkages between civil society and political institutions; strengthen existing networks of knowledge and encourage new regional networks which promote good governance; and contribute to developing the research agenda and the research community around issues of good governance.

Roma Activism Highlighted
The latest edition of the National Democratic Institute's Roma regional newsletter includes articles written by Romani political and civic activists from throughout Central and Eastern Europe, as well as information on NDI's programming to increase Roma political participation. 

OPPORTUNITIES

European Initiative For Democracy And Human Rights
The European Union's EIDHR has issued calls for proposals for microprojects on democracy and human rights in Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Burundi, Angola, Eritrea, Jordan, Tajikistan, Ivory Coast and Syria.

Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program
The International Forum for Democratic Studies invites applications to its Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program for fellowships in 2006–2007. Established in 2001, the program enables democracy activists, practitioners, scholars, and journalists from around the world to deepen their understanding of democracy and to enhance their ability to promote democratic change. The program is intended primarily to support activists, practitioners, and scholars from new and aspiring democracies; distinguished scholars from the United States and other established democracies are also eligible to apply. Projects may focus on the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural aspects of democratic development and may include a range of methodologies and approaches. A working knowledge of English is an important prerequisite for participation in the program. The application deadline for fellowships in 2006–2007 is Tuesday, November 1, 2005. For more information write to: fellowships@ned.org.

American Center for International Labor Solidarity, AFL-CIO
Field Representative, based in Algiers, Algeria
The Field Representative is responsible for the effective management of a field office and field programs. S/he is the representative of the Solidarity Center and the AFL-CIO in the country or region of assignment. S/he is 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 country or region. The Field representative works closely with AFL-CIO affiliates, the ICFTU and its regional organizations, and the international trade secretariats, within approved communications guidelines, to facilitate their participation in Solidarity Center programs. Full details and requirements here.

National Democratic Institute
The National Democratic Institute is recruiting for several positions based in the DC office and abroad.  The positions include Eurasia: Resident Political Party Trainer/Country Director; Iraq: Senior Resident Program Manager, Domestic Election Monitoring; Iraq: Resident Program Director, Governance Program; Iraq: Resident Senior Program Officer, Governance, Executive and Legislative Reforms; Iraq: Senior Program Manager, Civic Organizing Specialist; Kosovo: Senior Program Manager, Legislative Development Kyrgyzstan: Parliamentary Trainer; Pakistan: Local Governance Expert; Russia: Civic Trainer; Serbia: Resident Trainer Political Party/Parliamentary Program. Washington-based vacancies include Program Officer, Middle East and North Africa; Program Officer, South Asia; Senior Program Officer, Win with Women Knowledge Network Facilitator/Project Coordinator. Apply using NDI's on-line resumé tool here.

International Republican Institute
The International Republican Institute (IRI) is recruiting for several positions based in the DC office and abroad.  The positions include Program Officer for the Caucasus (DC); Program Officer, Bangladesh & Malaysia (DC); Program Assistant, Cambodia & Indonesia (DC); Program Officer & Program Assistant, Middle East/North Africa (DC); Resident Program Officer, Cambodia; Resident Program Officer, West Bank/Gaza; Resident Country Director, Egypt; Resident Country Director, Sudan. See here for full details. Apply to e-mail: personnel@iri.org; no phone calls please. EOE

Transparency International
Policy and Research Director (1 year maternity replacement), Berlin, Germany
Transparency International is seeking an exceptional professional to lead the policy and research department of its International Secretariat for a maternity replacement post for the period October 2005 to October 2006. Responsibilities in this post are substantial and encompass the management of TI's policy and research activities, including overseeing policy development, research design in anti-corruption programming, development and execution of global measurement tools, and applied research projects. This position requires active liaison across other teams (regional and thematic) in the TI-Secretariat and with the TI movement around the world. The Director should be able to lead and innovate across all aspects of their work. Location: The job is based in Berlin, Germany, and requires some international travel. Full details here. Email: policydirector@transparency.org.

National Endowment for Democracy
Program Officer for East Asia/ Assistant Program Officer for Asia
The National Endowment for Democracy seeks a Program Officer specializing in China and an Assistant Program Officer specializing in South and/or Southeast Asia. The Program Officer will work with the regional director and other staff to develop and manage the NED's East Asia grants program, with particular emphasis on China, and monitor and evaluate projects in the region. Applicants should have a Master's level education or equivalent knowledge in international affairs, politics, or a related discipline; at least 4 years of democracy-related and/or regional experience; in-depth knowledge of political issues and trends in China; excellent written and oral communication skills in both English and Chinese; a high degree of organization and initiative; knowledge of other countries in Asia a plus. To apply, send a letter of interest and resume by email to asiajobs@ned.org (please type “China Search” in the subject line) or by fax to (202) 776-9075. No phone inquiries, please.

Assistant Program Officer applicants should possess in-depth knowledge of political issues and trends in South and/or Southeast Asia; excellent written and oral communication skills in English; written and oral communication skills in a relevant Asian language preferred; MS Office skills; high degree of organization and initiative; experience in financial management and reporting preferred. To apply, please send a cover letter, resume and a recent writing sample to asiajobs@ned.org.. No phone inquiries please. Please write “APO search” in the subject line of your e-mail.

EVENTS

October 1, 2005, Sidney Hook and American Democracy: Current Crises, Future Challenges.
Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Ave, NW, Washington DC
The conference is organized by his friends as a tribute to the work of Democracy Digest co-editor Penn Kemble, Senior Scholar at Freedom House and Director of the Project on Democracy and Global Education, which is jointly administered by Freedom House and the Foundation for Democratic Education. He previously served as Deputy Director of the United States Information Agency under President Clinton and was named Special Representative of the Secretary of State for the Community of Democracies Initiative, an undertaking that brought together 106 democracies in Warsaw in June, 2000.

Confirmed speakers on such themes as International Democracy and the New Totalitarianism, and American Liberalism and the Legacy of Sidney Hook include Peter Berkowitz, George Mason University School of Law and fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution; Paul Berman, author of Power and the Idealists, and Terror and Liberalism; Jean Bethke Elshtain, University of Chicago and author of Just War Against Terror; Joshua Muravchik, author of Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism; Fred Siegel, Cooper Union, New York, and author of The Prince Of The City: Giuliani, New York And The Genius Of American Life. Reservations required. For further details e-mail: vickithomas@comcast.net.

September 14, Debate: tyrants should be left free to tyrannise their own people.
Royal Geographical Society, Kensington Gore, London SW7
Speakers include: Robert Skidelsky, University of Warwick; James Rubin, LSE. 18:45. Phone: 020 7494 3345. details: here. £20.

September 16, Georgia's Compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation: A New Partnership with the United States.
9:00 a.m. Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 419, Washington, D.C.
Senator Richard G. Lugar, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; Gela Bezhuashvili, Secretary of Georgia's National Security Council, National Security Advisor to President Saakashvili. A panel discussion will include: Dr. Steven Radelet, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development; Lasha Shinadze, CEO, Millennium Challenge Georgia; Gretchen Brevnov, MCC Country Director, Georgia; Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director, Freedom House (invited). RSVP e-mail: mccevents@mcc.gov or Phone: 202-521-3859.

September 21, Transatlantic Divide?
2:30-4:30 p.m, Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC
Post-Summit Views of Aid and the Millennium Development Goals. Organised by the Center for Global Development and the Overseas Development Institute. Speakers: John Simon, Special Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for Relief, Stabilization, and Development, National Security Council; Andrew Rogerson, Research Fellow, Poverty and Public Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute; Michael Clemens, Research Fellow, Center for Global Development. Most developing countries, especially in Africa, will not reach the MDGs by 2015. Is there a fundamental divide between the US and Europe over development strategies and the role of foreign aid? Please RSVP to Sarah Dean at events@cgdev.org by September 16th.

September 23, The Struggle for Iraq's Future.
7 pm, 123 West 43rd Street, New York, NY  10036
Jeffrey Goldberg, moderator. Robert Baer, Mark Danner, Douglas J. Feith, Kanan Makiya, George Packer, Rend al-Rahim, and R. James Woolsey. $15 tickets available here.

September 26, 3:00-5:00 pm, The National Elections in Germany
SAIS–Johns Hopkins University, Bernstein-Offit Building, Room 500, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC..
With Dieter Dettke, Jackson Janes, Carl Lankowski, Rüdiger Lentz, and Dieter Roth. Presented by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and American Institute for Contemporary German Studies. RSVP to e-mail: fesdc@fesdc.org.

September 26-28.
Euromed and the Media International Conference Jordan.
In view of the upcoming 10th Anniversary of the Barcelona Process, the European Commission is organising a major Conference to examine critical aspects of the media's contribution to progress in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. This Conference is the first of 3 major journalistic gatherings (the second will take place in Marseille on 17-18 October) which will culminate in Barcelona on 25-26 November. The September event will focus on the challenge of political division and independent media coverage, the role of the media vis-à-vis the EMP and the role of administrations in facilitating the media's work. For more info, contact : e-mail: thomas.mcgrath@cec.eu.int or e-mail: ahmed.bedjaoui@cec.eu.int

September 26, Aspen Institute, Berlin
.How Freedom is Won: From Civic Resistance to Durable Democracy. Peter Ackerman, chairman, Freedom House and Adrian Karatnycky, president, Freedom House. All events take place in Berlin and are by invitation only. If you are interested in attending, please email aibinfo@aspenberlin.org.

October 5, Remaking Iraq: Success, Failure, and the Foundation of a New State.
8:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m., AEI, 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
Democracy in Iraq under a constitution that successfully codifies and guarantees the rights of the Iraqi people could serve as a model for other Middle Eastern nations. But are we expecting too much? To discuss these and other challenges to Iraq, AEI is pleased to host a day-long conference on the shape of a new Iraq and the Iraqi constitution. Speakers will include: Barham Salih, Iraqi minister of planning; Abdul Karim Muhammadawi, leader of Iraqi Hezbollah; Sheikh Afeef al-Gaylani, Islamic scholar, leader of the Tariqatul Qadriyah, and AEI's Danielle Pletka and Michael Rubin. Full details here.

October 6-7 2005, IFES International Civil Society Summit
Washington, D.C.
IFES convenes civil society experts and leaders to examine the trends and challenges concerning civil society in the 21st century. The main purpose of the summit is to create a platform for discussion of the essential ingredients that contribute to the effectiveness of civil society in promoting democracy. This event will cover three primary themes: civic awareness and participation, civil society and accountability, and civil society in conflict or transitional environments. Prominent figures will attend from countries as diverse as Paraguay, Ecuador, Algeria, Iraq, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Romania, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Indonesia. Further details here or contact Veronica Andino, IFES Program Assistant, e-mail: vandino@ifes.org. Phone : 202.350.6700 ext 6614 Fax: 202.452.0804.

October 15, The place of Islam in non-Islamic societies.
6:30 pm. LSE, Houghton St, London WC2.
Tariq Ramadan, writer and activist. Phone: 020 8980 6263, details here.

October 17, Is the Arab World Ready for Democracy?
"Yes" – Reuel Gerecht, American Enterprise Institute. "Maybe, but I doubt it" – Claude Weinber, Heinrich Böll Foundation . All events take place Aspen Institute, Berlin. Invitation only. If you are interested in attending, please email aibinfo@aspenberlin.org

October 18, Economist debate: Latin America has regular elections but lacks citizens' democracies.
6:45 pm, Chatham House, St James's Square, London SW1.
Victor Bulmer-Thomas, Chatham House; Guillermo O'Donnell, University of Notre Dame; Michael Reid, the Economist. Phone: 020 7314 3668. free.

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.