Puolueiden Kansainvälinen Demokratiayhteistyö Demo ry - DEMO Finland
Puolueiden kansainvälinen demokratiayhteistyö Demo ry
Partiernas internationella demokratisamarbete Demo rf
Political Parties of Finland for Democracy, Demo Finland
Puolueiden kansainvälinen demokratiayhteistyö Demo ry
Partiernas internationella demokratisamarbete Demo rf
Political Parties of Finland for Democracy, Demo Finland
Demo Finland strives to increase interest among actors within Finnish political parties in issues related to development and democracy, by providing opportunities to participate in and build up their own experiences of such work, by publicising Demo Finland's work through parties' events and publications, and by organising seminars and training events. Such activities particularly spotlight the importance of democracy for development, as well as the vital role that responsible and well functioning parties play in any democracy. Work done in the target countries very much involves learning on both sides.
According to the new Finnish Development Policy Action Plan, Finland's development co-operation is based on developing countries citizens' and their democratically elected representatives' ownership of their societies' development. "In the operation, increasing attention will be paid to human rights and support for the use of each developing country's own resources for development purposes. At the same time, we will redirect our own work efforts in accordance with the needs of developing countries, global division of duties, and Finnish competencies and strengths," Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala states.
"We know that the guys have their own networks, even in equal societies, there are associations that have existed for hundreds of years and they still do not let us women in. We need to have our own networks supporting each other."Astrid Thors
European commission is launching a new program to promote political and democratic reform in Northern Africa. The program, in its first phase, will take place in Morocco and Tunisia and aims at supporting independence and efficiency of the judiciary.
Supporting good governance and democracy demands continuous scrutiny of tools and methods used by the aid providers. Development aid that supports political systems is delicate and heavily bound to areal and cultural contexts. The new report by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace examines the development of perspectives used in governance and democracy support.
The Arab Spring's positive and eager atmosphere for democracy has been the most evident democracy news of the year. Unfortunately, human rights and democracy activists are not given a level playground all over the world – for example in Russia and Belarus their actions are often suppressed by brutal means. Meanwhile North African countries are voting in their first democratic elections, Russia and Belarus are sinking deeper into authoritarian regimes.
Two recent papers by FRIDE, a think tank for global action, discuss the potential break of democracy in Northern Africa and the Middle East. The authors call for more active and strategically coherent stand by EU to support desired development towards democracy in these areas.
Read the publications online:
The EU and the Arab spring: from munificence to geo-strategy
Democracy Digest 11.5.2012
Al Arabiya 10.5.2012
Democracy Digest 7.5.2012
Democracy Digest 3.5.2012
Democracy Digest 26.4.2012
Open Democracy 25.4.2012
Democracy Digest 24.4.2012
National Democratic Institute 23.4.2012
FRIDE 12.4.2012
Foreign Policy 11.4.2012
Democracy Digest 9.4.2012
UNDP 4.4.2012
European Council on Foreign Relations 2.4.2012
Democracy Digest 2.4.2012
Democracy Digest 26.3.2012
