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Issue No. 11
October 2005
Welcome to Democracy Research News, the electronic newsletter of the Network of Democracy Research Institutes (NDRI). 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 ( www.wmd.org ). This newsletter is one means of informing democracy scholars and others worldwide about the activities of and publications produced by NDRI member institutes. Additional information about the Network, a listing and profiles of all member institutes, and back issues of this newsletter are available at www.wmd.org/ndri/ndri.html . To submit comments or to inquire about joining the Network, please write to Thomas Skladony (tom@ned.org).
Subscribing to Democracy Research News
Democracy Research News is distributed exclusively by e-mail. Subscriptions are available free of charge by writing to ndri@ned.org . We encourage readers to forward this newsletter to colleagues who may wish to subscribe. If you do not wish to receive Democracy Research News, send the message “unsubscribe” to ndri@ned.org and we will remove your name promptly.
Contents
1. News and Announcements
2. New Publications and Recent Events by NDRI Members
2.1 Africa
2.2 Asia and the Pacific
2.3 Europe
2.4 Latin America and the Caribbean
2.5 Middle East
2.6 Russia and the Former Soviet Republics
2.7 United States and Canada
Fellowship Opportunity : The International Forum for Democratic Studies ( United States , www.ned.org/forum/internationalforum.html ) 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 .
NDRI Washington Workshop: The International Forum for Democratic Studies hosted the second NDRI Washington Workshop for Think-Tank Managers from September 19–23, 2005 , in Washington , D.C. The purpose of the workshop was to strengthen NDRI members as institutions and to improve the administrative skills of key staff members. Twelve participants, selected through a competitive application process, spent a full week visiting many of the most important policy-research centers in Washington , including the Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Heritage Foundation, Woodrow Wilson Center , and others. They met with top administrators responsible for fundraising, budgeting, book publishing, communications and outreach, Web-site development, and networking. Participants in this year's workshop included Ilse Toerien (Institute for Democracy in South Africa), Yanyan Yip (Civic Exchange, Hong Kong), Thawilwadee Bureekul (King Prajadhipok's Institute, Thailand), Rashko Dorosiev (Centre for Liberal Strategies, Bulgaria), Robin Gosejohann (European Stability Initiative, Turkey), Agnes Batory (Center for Policy Studies, Hungary), Emanuel Rauta (Romanian Academic Society), Hana Lyons, (Institute for Public Affairs, Slovakia), Ilko Kucheriv, (Democratic Initiatives Foundation, Ukraine), Alicia Athié Martinez (FUNDAR, Mexico), Hani Hourani, (Al Urdun Al Jadid Research Center, Lebanon), and Olfat Hammad (Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Palestine).
New Master's Degree Program in Democracy Studies: The Center for Democracy and the Third Sector (CDATS, United States , www.georgetown.edu/centers/cdats ) and Georgetown University 's Department of Government announced the creation of a new master's degree program in democracy studies that will begin in fall 2006. The program will address the diverse needs of a growing population working in the field of democracy promotion, with a specific focus on issues of democracy and development, and on improving the quality of democratic life around the world. Additional information about this program is available at www.georgetown.edu/centers/cdats/maprogramaims.htm .
NDRI Member Nominated for Prize: Alina Mungiu-Pippidi , director of the Romanian Academic Society (SAR, Romania , www.sar.org.ro ) was one of six writers nominated as European journalist of the year by European Voice magazine “for providing reliable analysis of Romanian political and economic events, so helping to combat corruption and promote good governance.” Visit www.ev50.com/noflash/category.php?id=8 for more information about her and other nominees in a variety of categories.
The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI, www.idi.org.il ) has issued a call for written submissions to two forthcoming edited volumes on democracy and the media. The first will focus on online reporting in Israel ; the second will examine the tension between the right to privacy and freedom of the press. Additional details and submission requirements are available at www.idi.org.il/english/article.php?id=05092005141051 .
NDRI Welcomes Two New Members: We are pleased to welcome the following new members of the research network (whose activities are reported in the appropriate geographic sections of this newsletter):
• Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL, Argentina, www.cadal.org/default.php ), an independent, nonprofit, think tank dedicated to promoting the strengthening of democracy, rule of law and economic liberty in Latin America.
• Democracy in Africa Research Unit ( DARU, South Africa, www.cssr.uct.ac.za/daru_about.html ), a research institution within the Centre for Social Science Research at the University of Cape Town whose goal is to strengthen empirical social-science capacity in Africa by supporting and conducting research on citizens, political institutions, and the survival and quality of democracy.
Robert Mattes, codirector of the Afrobarometer ( www.afrobarometer.org ) , and Doh Chull Shin, professor of political science, University of Missouri, published “The Democratic Impact of Cultural Values in Africa and Asia: The Cases of South Korea and South Africa” in July 2005 in the Afrobarometer Working Papers series. Drawing on survey research conducted by the East Asia Barometer in South Korea in 2003 and by the Afrobarometer in South Africa in 2002, the authors tested empirically the extent to which traditional cultural values “compete with or preclude the development of other values that are often seen to be necessary in a democratic society.” The complete 34-page paper is available at www.afrobarometer.org/AfropaperNo50.pdf .
Michelle Kuenzi, professor of political science, University of Nevada/Las Vegas; and Gina M.S. Lambright, assistant professor of political science and international affairs, George Washington University, published “Who Votes in Africa? An Examination of Electoral Turnout in 10 African Countries” in the same series. The full text of this 35-page paper is available at www.afrobarometer.org/papers/AfropaperNo51.pdf .
The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana, www.cddghana.org/index.php ) published the June 2005 issue of Democracy Watch, the Center's quarterly newsletter, featuring articles on Ghana 's experience with decentralization, a discussion of why parliament remains weak vis-à-vis the executive, and a critical overview of a bill to secure voting rights. For the current issue of Democracy Watch and an archive of past issues visit www.cddghana.org/publications_shelf.php?cid=3 .
Francis Kornegay, senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies ( CPS, South Africa , www.cps.org.za ), wrote “ Race and Ethnic Relations Barometer: A Narrative Analysis of Findings from the Centre for Policy Studies' Social Identity Survey.” The 22-page research paper, published in May 2005, summarized a long-term CPS project on the extent to which “South Africans have overcome the social-racial polarization that had been entrenched through the system of apartheid.” For the complete text visit www.cps.org.za/cps%20pdf/RR106.pdf .
The Democracy in Africa Research Unit (DARU, South Africa, www.cssr.uct.ac.za/daru_about.html ), a new NDRI member, provides access to its Working Papers at www.cssr.uct.ac.za/daru_pubs.html . Recent papers available for free download include “Democracy, Traditional Leadership, and the International Economy in South Africa” by Thomas Koelble; “Democracy as a Lesser Evil” by Doh Chull Shin and Robert Mattes; and “Voter Information, Government Evaluations, and Party Images, 1994–2004” by Robert Mattes.
The Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI, www.cdi.anu.edu.au ) published “Political Parties, Parliamentary Governance, and Party Strengthening in Melanesia: Issues and Challenges,” a working paper by Michael G. Morgan, Louise Baker, and Luke Hambly that applied global lessons about how to strengthen political parties to conditions in the states of Melanesia. The 16-page text is available at
www.cdi.anu.edu.au/research/research_downloads/CDI%20Political%20Parties%20Strategy-1.pdf .
Stephen Sherlock, CDI associate, published “ Indonesia 's Regional Representative Assembly: Democracy, Representation, and the Regions,” a study of the structure, functions, and performance of the new representative assembly that was created as part of the post-Suharto series of institutional reforms in Indonesia . Visit www.cdi.anu.edu.au/research/research_downloads/DPD%20research%20paper%20Jul%202005.pdf for the 48-page working paper.
CDI conducted its fourth annual Responsible Parliamentary Government Course from August 16 to September 16, 2005 , in Canberra . Parliamentary officials from Indonesia , Papua New Guinea , Thailand , and Vietnam participated in discussions of the fundamental principles of parliamentary government, parliamentary oversight of the executive, and structures of accountability. A report on the program is in preparation.
Additional news about CDI projects and research is available in the Centre's bimonthly newsletter, whose current and back issues are available at http://www.cdi.anu.edu.au/cdinews/cdinews.htm .
Civic Exchange ( Hong Kong , www.civic-exchange.org ) published “The Rule of Law in Hong Kong ” by Richard Cullen, professor of business law and taxation, Monash University , Australia . The 39-page study, whose full text is available at www.civic-exchange.org/publications/2005/rolawe.pdf , provided a historical overview of the development of the concept of the rule of law, examined the differing contemporary understandings of the rule of law in Hong Kong and in mainland China, and speculated on the future of democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Civic Exchange also published “Governing Singapore: How, Why, and Where are We Heading? The Singapore ‘Executive-led' Government System: Reflections for Hong Kong ” by Yeo Lay Hwee, Tan Hsien Li, and Joanne Lin. The 40-page text is available at www.civic-exchange.org/publications/2005/SIIA.pdf .
The September–December 2005 issue of the Journal of East Asian Studies, edited at the East Asia Institute (EAI, South Korea, www.eai.org.kr ) and published by Lynn Rienner Publishers, included the articles “Breaking Authoritarian Bonds: The Political Origins of the Taiwan Administrative Procedure Act” by Jeeyang Rhee Baum; “ Evolving Toward What? Parties, Factions, and Coalition Behavior in Thailand Today” by Paul Chambers; and “ Taiwan 's State and Social Movements under the DPP Government, 2000–2004” by Ming-sho Ho, plus reviews of new books on China , Japan , and Northeast Asia . Visit www.rienner.com/jeasrec.htm for article abstracts, a complete table of contents, and ordering information.
The Sejong Institute ( South Korea , www.sejong.org ) recently launched an enlarged version of its English-language Web site that includes descriptions of Sejong research projects and conferences, descriptions of books written and edited by Sejong scholars, and links to Sejong working papers and reports. The core of the Institute's research remains international relations and national security, but Sejong scholars also study domestic Korean politics and democratization in East Asia . The latest volume in the Sejong book series is Russia: Government and Society, edited by Han-Ku Chung, an anthology of essays tracing the political and economic transitions in Russia over the past twenty years.
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA, Sri Lanka , www.cpalanka.org ) convened a two-day meeting in July 2005 for members of the Sri Lankan government and for representatives of domestic and international civil society to discuss the international dimensions of the Sri Lankan peace process. Participants discussed the types of assistance provided by international actors, the successes and failures of various foreign interventions, and possible future peacemaking roles for the international community. A 22-page narrative report on the meeting is available at www.cpalanka.org/research_papers/International_Community_Final_Report.doc .
The Centre for Liberal Strategies (CLS, Bulgaria, www.cls-sofia.org ), in partnership with the Bulgarian business publisher Economedia, has begun publishing a Bulgarian edition of Foreign Policy, the bimonthly journal of world affairs produced by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Each issue will include about thirty pages of original Bulgarian content, prepared by CLS researchers and other Bulgaria-based writers and scholars.
Elena Triffonova, program director of the Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS, Bulgaria , www.iris-bg.org ), participated in a July 2005 USAID conference entitled “Beyond Analysis: The Broader Role of Policy Research Organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina .” The purpose of the meeting was to explore ways that policy-research centers contribute to more effective decision making by governments and help increase citizens' participation in public life. Ms. Triffonova's presentation, entitled “A Successful Example of Policy Work Done for the Bulgarian Government,” described research conducted by IRIS scholars for the Bulgarian ministry of regional development and public works. A summary and agenda of the conference is available at www.iris-bg.org/TIP%20for%20Presenters.pdf .
The October 2005 issue of Revue Politika, published (in Czech) by the Centre for the Study of Democracy and Culture (CDK, Czech Republic, www.cdkbrno.cz ), included an article by Martin Říman on the counter-revolutionary left in the Czech Republic, an article by Zora Hesová on the role of Islam in the draft Iraqi constitution, and a discussion entitled “What Kind of Democracy has a Chance in Iraq?” The issue also included reviews of new books on European politics and political theory. The full texts of selected articles from the current and previous issues of Revue Politika are available at www.cdkbrno.cz/rp/2005/8/ .
The European Stability Initiative (ESI, Germany , www.esiweb.org ) published a research report entitled “Islamic Calvinists: Change and Conservatism in Central Anatolia ” in September 2005. The report confronted the common European perception “that Turkey has two souls” (the first represented by cosmopolitan Istanbul , the second by rural and traditional Anatolia ) by tracing the impact of the economic modernization of the c entral Anatolian province of Kayseri on political, religious, and social attitudes in the heartland. An executive summary and the full text of this report are available at www.esiweb.org/docs/showdocument.php?document_ID=69 .
The Center for Policy Studies (CPS, Hungary , www.ceu.hu/cps ) continues to add dozens of important documents to its Policy Documentation Center , an online archive of briefings, reports, commentaries, and working papers produced by think tanks in Central and Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union . The collection includes research not only on democracy, politics, and governance but on education, minority rights, privatization, fighting corruption, border policies, accession to the European Union, and many other issues. The PDC features a search engine (available at http://pdc.ceu.hu/ ) that allows users to browse by country, topic, or source, as well as an e-mail service that alerts readers to new additions to the archive.
Leonardo Morlino, director of the Interuniversity Research Center on Southern Europe (CIRES, Italy , www.cires-ricerca.it ), published “Anchors and Democratic Change” in the September 2005 Comparative Political Studies . The study attempted to explain the paradox of “fairly strong [democratic] consolidation that takes place within a very limited legitimation” through an analysis of what Mr. Morlino terms the “anchoring” and deanchoring” of political institutions both in times of consolidation and in times of crisis. Visit http://cps.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/38/7/743 for an abstract and ordering information for the 28-page text.
The Institute of Public Affairs (ISP, Poland , www.isp.org.pl ) published Money and Politics in Poland: A New Democracy in a Comparative Perspective by Marcin Walecki, described by the publisher as “the first in-depth study of political finance in a postcommunist country.” Mr. Walecki focused on the difficulties of developing a transparent system of political finance during Poland 's transition from communism to democracy and argued that the role of money in politics is central to debates on democratization and corruption in postcommunist states. For purchasing information visit www.isp.org.pl/index.php?v=bookstore&ln=eng&action=book&id=7215&ln=eng .
Alina Mungiu-Pippidi , president of the Romanian Academic Society (SAR, www.sar.org.ro ) published “Transformation Reloaded,” an August 2005 SAR policy brief that examined the impact of accession to the European Union on domestic Romanian politics. Visit www.sar.org.ro/Policy%20memo13-en.pdf for the 4-page essay.
The September 2005 issue of SAR's “Policy Warning and Forecast Report” (available at www.sar.org.ro/PWR-10-en.pdf ) included an analysis of a recent Gallup Romania survey of citizen attitudes toward state institutions and government performance, plus a review of key economic indicators and current reform proposals.
The Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM, Serbia and Montenegro , www.cedem.cg.yu ) reported on its recent activities in the July–September 2005 issue of its newsletter (available at www.cedem.cg.yu/nletter/images/no14_eng.pdf ). The issue featured a lead article by Veselin Pavićević summarizing the discussions at a CEDEM roundtable on developing legal norms for the conduct of referendums, plus brief accounts of other CEDEM workshops on human rights and European integration.
Srdan Darmanovic, director of CEDEM, delivered a lecture entitled “ Montenegro in the Process of Joining the EU” in June 2005 at a conference convened by the University of Florence in Italy .
The September edition of CEDEM's ongoing public - opinion surveys asked respondents about their satisfaction with the Montenegrin government, their views on the state union between Serbia and Montenegro , and their confidence in politicians and public officials. Visit www.cedem.cg.yu/opolls/images/CEDEM_september05_eng.pdf for the data.
The Institute for Public Affairs (IVO, Slovakia , www.ivo.sk ) published Slovakia 2004: A Global Report on the State of Society . Edited by Grigorij Mese žnikov and Miroslav Kollár, this 740-page book is a revised and updated version of the Slovak edition published earlier this year. Written by Slovakia's most prominent social scientists, the Global Report provides a comprehensive review of the year's most important developments in politics, economics, international relations, and social and cultural affairs. Visit www.ivo.sk/info_p_en.php?nr=80-88935-79-2 for contents and ordering information.
Martin Bútora and Grigorij Mese žnikov, honorary president and president of IVO, respectively, participated in a September 5–6 international seminar in Prague entitled “Think Tanks and Their Political and Economic Influence,” organized by the American Information Center of the U.S. Embassy in the Czech Republic. Mr. Bútora analyzed the impact of Slovakia's think tanks on the country's foreign policy; Mr. Mesežnikov described IVO's contributions to the 1998 civic campaign that led to the breakthrough democratic elections of that year. The texts of their remarks—available (in Slovak) at www.ivo.sk/seminar_praha.htm —will be published in a forthcoming conference volume.
Oľga Gyárfášová, director of IVO's public-opinion studies program, contributed research on Slovakia to Transatlantic Trends 2005, a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Compagnia di San Paolo that examined the attitudes of Americans and Europeans on world affairs and on U.S.–European cooperation. Among the more important of this year's findings was that Europeans appear to support democracy promotion much more than Americans do. Visit www.transatlantictrends.org/index.cfm?id=3 for information on the overall project and www.transatlantictrends.org/index.cfm?id=35 for results for Slovakia.
Richard Youngs, coordinator of the Democratisation and Rule of Law Program of FRIDE ( La Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior, Spain, www.fride.org ), was the lead writer of “No Lasting Peace and Prosperity without Democracy and Human Rights,” a report commissioned by the European Parliament and conducted under the auspices of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy. The 39-page report (available at www.fride.org/eng/File/ViewFile.phpx?FileId=770 ) examined more than a decade of EU activities and provided specific recommendations for improving EU democracy and human-rights promotion.
Susanne Gratius, a FRIDE researcher, critiqued U.S. and European democracy-promotion policies in “Helping Castro? The Policies of the EU and the U.S. towards Cuba ,” a FRIDE working paper published in October 2005. The (Spanish-only) text is available at www.fride.org/eng/File/ViewFile.phpx?FileId=769 .
The Centre for the Study of Public Policy (CSPP, United Kingdom , www.cspp.strath.ac.uk/ ) published “Insiders and Outsiders: New Europe Barometer 2004,” the seventh in its series of surveys of thirteen postcommunist countries in Central and Eastern Europe . Based on research conducted between October 2004 and February 2005, the study tracked public attitudes toward the transformation process in new EU-member states, EU applicant states, and non-EU affiliated states. Visit www.cspp.strath.ac.uk/index.html?catalog0_0.html for an abstract and purchasing information.
The Democratic Audit ( www.democraticaudit.com ), a research consortium affiliated with the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex ( United Kingdom ,
www2.essex.ac.uk/human_rights_centre/ ), published “Failing Democracy,” a brief report that warned that “the condition of democracy in Britain improved a great deal between 1997 and 2001, but that it is has now substantially regressed.” The text is available at www.democraticaudit.com/download/Findings7.pdf .
The Democratic Audit's Web site, updated regularly, includes a variety of resources on British democracy, on the conducting and evaluation of democracy audits, and on audits across the world. For data, analysis, bibliographies, and useful links, visit www.democraticaudit.com/auditing_democracy/index.php
The Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL, Argentina, www.cadal.org/default.php ), published “The Modernization of Political Parties in Argentina: The First Step towards a Competitive Political Reform,” a brief paper by Mercedes Llano and Gabriel C. Salvia that urged the adoption of reforms to make that country's political parties more transparent and democratic. Ms. Llano presented her study of the constitutions of eighteen parties at a September 1, 2005 , CADAL seminar on political party reform. From September 6–29 CADAL also cosponsored a seminar on “The History of Argentinian Political Parties” that was directed by Ricardo López Göttig.
Pedro Pablo Isern, director of economic and rule of law studies; and Mr. Salvia, president and general director of CADAL, edited La Experiencia Chilena: Consensos para el Desarrollo (CADAL, 2005) , a volume of essays on Chile's recent economic development and its positive and negative consequences for Chilean democracy. The complete text of the (Spanish-language) book is available at www.cadal.org/libros/pdf/LaExperienciaChilena.pdf .
In September 2005 CADAL also published the latest edition of Local Level Journalism and Democracy Indicators in Latin America, the third in a series of studies by Fernando J. Ruiz that monitors press freedoms, threats to journalists, the development of the journalism profession, and their impact on democracy throughout the region. The 20-page report is available at www.cadal.org/english/pdf/Indicators_3.pdf .
The Latinobarómetro ( www.latinobarometro.org ) celebrated its tenth anniversary by organizing a September 19–20, 2005 , conference at the Latin American Centre of the University of Oxford . The event included panel discussions of “The State of Democracy in Latin America ,” “Governability and the Quality of Democracy,” and “The Study of Public Opinion in Comparative Studies.” Distinguished participants included NDRI members Leonardo Morlino (CIRES, Italy ) and Michael Bratton ( Afrobarometer , United States ). For an agenda visit www.latinobarometro.org/index.php?id=90&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=15&tx_ttnews[backPid]=149&cHash=6cbc96d435 .
Saad Eddin Ibrahim, chairman of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies (ICDS, Egypt, www.eicds.org ), delivered a keynote address at an August 2005 conference in Stockholm that brought together leaders of democracy-promotion foundations from all over the world. In his remarks Mr. Ibrahim reported that the Ibn Khaldun Center had launched the Egyptian Democracy Support Network as a “focal point for collaboration on democracy development in Egypt” that will also “monitor, document, analyze, and disseminate information about political developments” in that country.
The August 2005 issue of Civil Society, the Center's monthly newsletter, included articles, editorials, and other features on the then-forthcoming presidential elections in Egypt . The Center also participated in a project organized by thirty-five Egyptian nongovernmental organizations that trained almost 4,000 domestic monitors for the September 7 Egyptian presidential election. Unfortunately, this work “met seemingly systematic resistance from the government-appointed Presidential Election Commission,” the Center asserted. Visit www.eicds.org/english/publications/civilsociety/05/august/augustmain.htm for the complete newsletter.
The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI, www.idi.org.il ) hosted a September 7, 2005 , discussion entitled “Life after Disengagement” as part of IDI's George Schultz Roundtable Forum. Participants representing widely divergent perspectives debated the justice and wisdom of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and its expected impact on Israeli democracy. Visit www.idi.org.il/english/article.php?id=12092005132144 for a brief summary.
The Institute also recently published The Secret of its Strength: The Yesha Council and its Campaign against the Security Fence and the Disengagement Plan by IDI scholars Anat Roth and Asher Arian, a study of the influence of the Yesha Council and of the leadership of Israeli settlements in Judea , Samaria , and Gaza on the country's security policies. Visit www.idi.org.il/english/catalog.php?pdid=474&did=40 for an English abstract of and purchasing information for this Hebrew-language publication.
The 2005 edition of Democratic Culture, an annual volume of essays published in Hebrew, included Moshe Hellinger's “Jewish Democracy and Democratic Judaism in the Thought of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook” and Yitzhak Nevo's “Two Models of Academic Freedom: The Case of Israeli Universities,” among other studies. For the full table of contents and purchasing information visit www.idi.org.il/english/catalog.php?pdid=374&tmp=1&did=52 .
The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR, www.pcpsr.org ) conducted a September 2005 poll to measure public opinion about the Israeli pullout from Gaza . Among the findings were that 84 percent of those surveyed viewed the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as victory for Palestinian armed resistance, but also that more than 60 percent oppose continued attacks against Israel from Gaza . An overwhelming majority of Palestinians—74 percent—plan to participate in the January 2006 parliamentary elections. Visit www.pcpsr.org/survey/polls/2005/p17epressrelease.html for complete results.
The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS, Lebanon, www.lcps-lebanon.org ), in partnership with the Lebanese Transparency Association, convened three roundtables on the integrity of the country's parliamentary elections that culminated in a July 28–29, 2005, national conference in Beirut that examined election monitoring, campaign finance, media coverage, and the accountability of political-party platforms. Participants included members of parliament and of the cabinet, foreign ambassadors, and election experts. A summary report with reform recommendations and a plan of action is in preparation.
With support from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Lebanese Center also organized a June 1–2, 2005 , conference on “The New Media and Socio-Political Change in the Arab World.” Conference topics included satellite television and democracy in the region, political talk shows, media sensationalism, the quality of news reporting, and the development of a media code of ethics. A book based on the conference proceedings is in preparation.
Researchers from the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV, www.tesev.org.tr ) participated in a July 20–23, 2005 , meeting in Venice on “Political Pluralism and Electoral Processes in the Broader Middle East and North Africa ” that was organized by the Italian nongovernmental organization No Peace without Justice. The Venice meeting followed a June 2005 session that TESEV hosted in Istanbul as part of the Democracy Assistance Dialogue, which will collect and publish reform recommentations from these and related conferences for presentation to the forthcoming Forum for the Future meeting in Bahrain. For more information visit
www.tesev.org.tr/eng/events/dem_ast_dial_23july2005.php .
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID, United States, www.islam-democracy.org ) hosted an August 31, 2005, lecture by Abdulaziz Sachedina entitled “Recent Elections and the Future of Religious Democracy in Iran” in which the professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia argued that the participation of religious leaders in electoral politics reduces their “aura of sacredness” and enables citizens to regard them as ordinary politicians vying for support, which the speaker regarded as a healthy development for Iranian democracy. Visit www.islam-democracy.org/MLS__Sachedina__Aug_2005.php for a summary of the presentation.
RUSSIA AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION
The Carnegie Moscow Center ( Russia, www.carnegie.ru ) published “Civil Society and Political Processes in the Regions,” a collection of working papers from the Center's Civil Society program on the strengths of civil society and political trends in Russia's regions. The 70–page (Russian-language) text is available at www.carnegie.ru/en/pubs/workpapers/WP-2005-03-www.pdf .
Dmitri Trenin , deputy director of the Center, wrote “Russia, the EU, and the Common Neighbourhood,” a study of Russia's response to EU efforts to help Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and the Caucasus states become more stable, democratic, and prosperous. Describing a series of incidents in which “Moscow has attempted little more than to preserve the status quo in the face of Western-oriented change—and often to no avail,” Mr. Trenin concluded that, “many Russian officials think that this forced retreat is the result of the U.S. and the EU moving into their country's traditional sphere of influence.” Visit www.carnegie.ru/en/pubs/media/73212.htm for the full text of his essay.
The July 2005 issue of Legislative Process in the State Duma: Human Rights Analysis, a monthly newsletter published by the Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights (Russia, www.demokratia.ru ), included a featured article by Lev Levinson critiquing a bill that would amend the law on elections and referendums in Russia in ways that would “facilitate manipulation of election results and limit political competition,” the author claimed. The brief English-language edition of the newsletter is available at www.demokratia.ru/. A 48 –page Russian edition is also available; visit www.demokratia.ru to access all available issues.
The St. Petersburg Center for Humanities and Political Studies (STRATEGY, Russia, www.strategy-spb.ru ) convened an international conference on “Public Policy and Think-Tanks in the Post-Soviet Space and Eastern Europe” on September 22–24, 2005, in St. Petersburg. The conference included discussions of the most pressing policy issues in the region and the role of research institutes in addressing these issues. Particular attention was devoted to the problems facing research institutes in authoritarian or illiberal settings, as well as to the possibilities for increased networking among policy-research centers. Visit www.strategy-spb.ru for more information (in Russian only) about this and other STRATEGY projects, or write to Michael Gorny, executive director of the Center, at mg@strateg.spb.su .
Recent issues of the ICPS Newsletter, published by the International Centre for Policy Studies (ICPS, Ukraine, www.icps.kiev.ua ) and focusing on political themes, included “Eliminating Corruption Could Improve the Well Being of Ukrainians by 300 percent” (July 4, 2005); “The State Should Protect its Citizens against Discrimination” (July 25, 2005); and “Legislative Gaps Make Public Oversight of Government Bodies Difficult” (September 19, 2005). For subscriptions to the free weekly newsletter and an achive of back issues visit www.icps.kiev.ua/eng/publications/nl.html .
In October 2005 Rights & Democracy (International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, Canada, www.ichrdd.ca ) launched a research and advocacy project to promote greater civil-society participation in the political process in Haiti. The project will provide funding for publications and workshops to help train local organizations and will “initiate strategies for ensuring that Haiti 's democratic development takes their interests into account.” Visit www.dd-rd.ca/frame2.iphtml?langue=0&menu=m01&urlpage=/english/commdoc/prelease1/haiti_oct18.htm for more information.
Giovanni Capoccia of the University of Oxford presented a paper entitled “Defending Democracy: Reactions to Extremism in Interwar Europe” in a September 7, 2005, lecture at the Center for Democracy and the Third Sector (CDATS, United States, www.georgetown.edu/centers/cdats/ ), as part of the Center's 2005–2006 Speaker Series on the Quality of Democracy. The full text of this lecture (and of previous lectures) is available at www.georgetown.edu/centers/cdats/speakerseries.htm .
New additions to the research repository maintained by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD, United States, www.democ.uci.edu ) include “Types of Cabinet Durability in Central Eastern Europe” by Ferdinand Mueller-Rommel, a study focusing on developments in the region since the fall of communism (full text available at http://repositories.cdlib.org/csd/05-12/ ) and “The Resource, Structural, and Cultural Bases of Protest” by Russell J. Dalton and Alix van Sickle, which examined cross-national levels of protest using data from the 1999–2002 World Values Survey ( http://repositories.cdlib.org/csd/05-11/ ). “The Creation of a New Underclass in China and its Implications” by Dorothy Solinger reviewed the impact of recent economic reforms on the poor in that country ( http://repositories.cdlib.org/csd/05-10/ ).
On August 31, 2005 , the Center and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs cosponsored a conference in Washington , D.C. , on “Political Parties and Political Development” that reviewed party and electoral systems across a wide range of democratic countries. For more information visit www.democ.uci.edu/research/conferences/politicalparties.php .
The Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL, United States, http://cddrl.stanford.edu/ ) has also added new titles to its Working Papers series, including “Law, Just War, and the International Fight Against Terrorism: Is It War?” by Allen S. Weiner, a study of whether the U.S.-led global war on terrorism comports with traditional understandings of just-war theory. The complete 29-page text is available at http://cddrl.stanford.edu/publications/20962/ .
“From Democracy to Democratization and Back: Before Transitions from Authoritarian Rule” by Terry L. Karl examined changing theories of democratic transitions since the publication of Guillermo O'Donnell and Philippe Schmitter's classic Transitions from Authoritarian Rule some twenty years ago. The full text of the 55-page paper is available at http://cddrl.stanford.edu/publications/20960/ .
“American Efforts at Promoting Regime Change in the Soviet Union and then Russia : Lessons Learned” by Michael A. McFaul explored the causes and consequences of U.S. efforts to foster democratic change in the Soviet Union and in contemporary Russia . Visit http://cddrl.stanford.edu/publications/20748/ for the 52-page text.
The October 2005 Journal of Democracy, edited by Marc F. Plattner and Larry Diamond at the International Forum for Democratic Studies (United States, www.ned.org ) and published by the Johns Hopkins University Press, included seven articles on Iran's presidential elections, plus case studies of democratic developments in Belarus, the Caribbean, Cambodia, Nepal, and Ethiopia. For selected online articles and the tables of contents of all Journal issues, visit www.journalofdemocracy.org .
Mr. Diamond and Leonardo Morlino, director of the Interuniversity Research Center on Southern Europe, 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. The new volume is the seventeenth in the Johns Hopkins Journal of Democracy book series.
