What We Do

Ineffective governance and weak institutions are at the root of global threats to democracy, including entrenched corruption, the rise of authoritarianism, and protracted conflict. The International Republican Institute (IRI) combats these trends and strengthens democracy worldwide by deploying approaches that enhance citizens’ ability to meaningfully participate in government planning and decision-making, while helping those in office respond to citizen needs with accountability and transparency.

Globally, restrictions on freedom of speech, assembly, and association are shrinking the space for people to advocate for themselves. To address this evolving challenge, the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) civil society programs are informed by the experience of IRI’s partners and designed to promote communities’ ability to participate in and influence political systems within their own country.

Violent conflict and state fragility threaten freedom and human well-being globally by derailing democratic progress, inhibiting service delivery, and undermining trust between the government and its citizens.

More than ever, foreign authoritarian actors from China and Russia, are taking an increasingly aggressive approach to exerting influence in democracies around the world. IRI’s Countering Foreign Authoritarian Influence (CFAI) programming equips democracies to push back through cutting-edge research, global convening, and equipping on-the-ground actors with the resources to creatively demand accountability and transparency from their governments.

Electoral integrity, a critical aspect of democratic governance, is increasingly jeopardized by a proliferating range of domestic and foreign threats. To guard against these dangers and make sure elections represent the will of the people, IRI’s electoral integrity programs expand voter literacy, maximize participation, catalyze reform movements, mitigate electoral violence, and build citizens’ confidence in electoral outcomes.

Independent media plays a vital role in strengthening democracy by producing widely accessible information free of institutional bias, promoting transparency and accountability, and raising awareness against authoritarianism. IRI supports media development so citizens have access to accurate and timely information.

A robust democracy depends on the equal and active participation of all. IRI empowers and amplifies the voices of underserved communities and integrates them into political and civic life. In so doing, IRI supports sustainable, inclusive democratic development.

Competitive, issue-based political parties organize democracy by providing meaningful choices for voters, linking disparate citizen interests, engaging citizens in the political process, cultivating responsive leaders, and holding governments accountable. The International Republican Institute (IRI) supports and strengthens democratic political parties to increase their representation, effectiveness, and accountability.

Understanding what works, how, and why in democracy and governance programs is critical to achieving and sustaining meaningful impact. IRI’s Research, Learning, and Evaluation efforts focus on conducting rigorous research, and designing and implementing monitoring, evaluation and learning systems to help our practitioners develop and implement effective, evidence-based and results-oriented projects.

Technology is the battleground for the future. The rapid adoption of digital technology has transformed how governments operate; how citizens engage and what they expect of leaders; how elections take place; what political campaigns look like; and the threats that democratic actors face.

IRI promotes women’s meaningful political participation and gender equality throughout all our regional programs, as well as our dedicated global initiative, the Women’s Democracy Network (WDN).

Empowering young people participate and lead is essential to the democratic health of all societies. IRI equips young people around the world with the skills and networks to engage in civic and political processes in a way that meets them where they are.