|
The collapse of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes in Central and Eastern Europe created the opportunity to increase the proportion of the world’s people who live in free societies. Since 1989, the International Republican Institute (IRI) has conducted a broad range of democracy support programs in the region, including party training, coalition development, civic education, policy forums and governance training.
Launched in 1999, IRI’s Regional Program continues to respond and adapt to changing circumstances in Central and Eastern Europe and establishes partnerships with other political and international organizations based in these countries. Programs that encourage electoral participation are a mainstay of the IRI agenda, and successful get-out-the-vote campaigns have been organized in countries around the region. In countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Serbia, IRI conducts programs designed to facilitate smooth transitions to power and promote reform.
While the region is now firmly on the path to democracy and free markets, IRI continues to help consolidate gains made by democratic parties and to firmly establish other institutions of democracy across the region. The Institute has established itself as an important mechanism for promoting cross-border cooperation and information sharing on a broad range of issues related to institution building, political processes, policy development, government communication and citizen participation.
IRI also provides an important forum for meetings between political and civic leaders from the more advanced new democracies and those from countries with less developed democratic systems – enabling the exchange of information, building working relationships, and creating or enlarging intra-regional support networks.
IRI has instituted a regular series of “political boot camps” for up-and-coming young leaders from across the region as part of its Leadership Institute for Central and Eastern Europe (LICEE). LICEE trainings have helped school the next generation of party and elected officials in modern campaign and communications techniques. Policy conferences and workshops examine issues of concern on both sides of the Atlantic, such as the role of values in politics, the use of the Internet and new technologies in campaigns, and the critical role of women in political transitions. Over the last year, IRI has established a partnership with the Eduardo Frei Foundation of the Netherlands to organize a series of Euro-Mediterranean leadership institutes that jointly train youth from Southeastern Europe and Turkey.
IRI organizes regular seminars and conferences on topics such as internal political party management and development and increasing the skill level and capacity of party management and candidates. Recently, IRI launched the European Political Party and Foundation Initiative to assist parties in the region to establish, develop, and – where possible – expand the work of foundations and institutes that provide training and analytical support to the parties and their leadership.
To complement these events, IRI has also produced a number of publications, such as a guide to political parties, handbooks on public opinion polling and focus groups, and a study of governance that examined the reasons why pro-reform governments failed in their bids for reelection. IRI also sponsors publications examining key topics in political development in the region and outside, including a study of the rise and fall of center-right parties across Central and Eastern Europe and a survey of recent issues-based campaigns in 10 countries.
IRI’s Bratislava-based program operates in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. The program also serves as a focal point for IRI’s interaction with western European political parties, institutions and democracy promotion foundations.
In this regard, IRI has undertaken an initiative to bolster and expand partnerships with political parties and institutions across Western Europe. Building on longstanding relationships with institutions such as the British Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the German political party foundations, IRI has expanded that network by developing new partnerships with the Austrian People’s Party, the Swedish Moderate Party, the Norwegian Conservative Party, and the Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal and their respective party foundations, the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, Spain’s FAES, the Robert Schuman Institute, and the European People’s Party and its new Centre for European Studies. These partnerships have led to a variety of joint conferences and workshops that help European politicians and experts to lend their services to IRI training missions and election observations.
IRI is unique in its continuing engagement in the region. While the democratic direction of the region is no longer in doubt, IRI continues to provide valuable assistance which helps to cement ties with United States and build partnerships for the Institute’s core mission of democracy promotion around the world.
|
