About NED:

The National Endowment for Democracy is a private, bipartisan foundation that works to strengthen democratic institutions worldwide. Since 1983, with support from the American people, NED has made thousands of grants to democratic nongovernmental groups in more than 100 countries, and has become a hub of activity, resources and intellectual exchange for activists, practitioners and scholars of democracy the world over.

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Journal of Democracy

International Forum for Democratic Studies

Fellowship Programs

Democracy Resource Center

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Kenya on the Brink: Democratic Renewal or Deepening Conflict?
Rep. Donald Payne, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson, and Speaker of Kenya’s Parliament Kenneth Marende were among the many experts who on Wednesday, July 22, gathered at NED to discuss the high stakes for all of East Africa as Kenya continues to grapple with the consequences of the disputed 2007 elections, including the massive post-election violence and deep political divisions despite the Government of National Unity. [read more]

Cuban activists honored with 2009 Democracy Award
On June 24, NED honored the courage and determination of five Cuban democracy activists with the presentation of its annual Democracy Award at a ceremony on Capitol Hill. The five activists, three of whom are imprisoned, were honored in absentia by guests including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman and Ranking member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. A moving video tribute about the Cuban democracy movement was shown, and messages of solidarity were received from Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel, Oswaldo Paya, and President Barack Obama. In a dramatic moment, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, known as “Antúnez,” was able to address the Capitol Hill audience by phone. [read more / view this event]

Moldovan Morass
Irregularities in Moldova’s April parliamentary elections led to widespread public protests followed by a government crackdown that has left the country deeply polarized as it heads toward a new round of elections on July 29th. NED held an event in Washington to discuss the current situation, “Mourning or Morning in Moldova? The April Election and its Aftermath”, while NED grantees in Moldova continue working to educate voters and monitor the elections. [read more]

“Mother of the Uyghurs” defends rights, deplores violence
Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, the well-known Uyghur-rights advocate and Board President of two NED grantee organizations, has been speaking out against violence on all sides, and calling for an impartial investigation, following recent unrest in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. To learn more, read the following background on NED support for minority rights both in China and elsewhere.

Commemorating the Unforgettable:
Tiananmen 20 Years On
The legacy of the events of June 4, 1989, when peaceful demonstrations by Chinese students urging political reform were crushed by military force, was the topic of a conference jointly organized by NED and the Laogai Research Foundation on June 2. Two panels examined the impact of Tiananmen on the Chinese media, and the prospects of democratic reform today. [read more]

Remarks by NED President Carl Gershman spoken at a June 4 Capitol Hill rally commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. [read more]

Solidarity and the Future of Democratization
A May 19 conference at Georgetown University commemorated the 20th anniversary of Poland's roundtable talks between the communist party and the Solidarity-led opposition. These talks led to elections in Poland and precipitated the fall of communism in the Eastern Bloc. Speakers included NED President Carl Gershman. [read more]

East Turkestan: 60 Years under the People’s Republic of China -
Past, Present and Future
On May 18, NED, World Uyghur Congress, and the Unrepresented Nations and People Organisation co-hosted a two-day conference to assess past and present Uyghur conditions under Chinese Communist Party rule and discuss autonomy, religious freedom, and the war on terror in the Xinjiang region of China. [read more / view this event]

Youth Movement Seeking Submissions for 2009 Essay Contest
The World Youth Movement for Democracy is pleased to announce its 6th annual Global Essay Contest. Fifteen regional winners will be given an all-expense paid opportunity to participate in the 6th Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2010. The contest will run through September 15. [read more]

Call for Applications: Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowships
The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowship Program invites democracy activists, practitioners, and scholars from to apply for fellowships in 2010-2011. The application deadline in November 2. [read more]

The Reagan-Fascell Fellowship Program recently featured presentations from its participants highlighting democracy efforts in several countries including: Russia (Ekaterina Osipova), India (Ronojoy Sen), Indonesia (Siti Nurjanah), Peru (Antonio Maldonado), Argentina (Enrique Peruzzotti), Nigeria (Anyakwee Nsirimovu), and Pakistan (Jami Chandio).

Recent reports:

• One Size Does Not Fit All: Objectives and Priority Areas for Media Assistance in Different Societies by Krishna Kumar
  
  
• Special Report: YouthTube: Empowering Youth Through Independent Media
  
  
• Sword and Shield: Self-Regulation and International Media by Bill Ristow

Recent events:

• July 9 - Sword and Shield: Self-Regulation and International Media
  
  
• July 7 - The Role of New Media in the Iranian Elections
  
  
• June 3 - Independent Voices: Radio's Role in Democracy and Development
  
  
• May 28 - YouTube: Empowering Youth Through Independent Media

The July 2009 issue of the Journal of Democracy includes seven articles in a special section on the Chinese political system, China Since Tiananmen. Free articles online include The Massacre's Long Shadow by Jean Philippe-Béja and Authoritarian Impermanence by Andrew J. Nathan. [see the full table of contents]


The first annual Journal of Democracy en Español has been published, featuring important articles on Latin America from the past year as well as a classic Journal article translated into Spanish. All articles are available for viewing online. [see the full table of contents]

NED's 2008 annual report, commemorating the 25th anniversary of NED's founding, is available online.
[read more]

• Jeta Xharra, host of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN)'s “Life in Kosovo,” has come under fire from government-sponsored publications; she has been accused of being a spy and has received death threats. Several NGOs, including COHU and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, have signed a letter in support of Xharra, condemning the campaign against her.
  
  
• Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country, is a new critically-acclaimed documentary featuring the work of the Democratic Voice of Burma, “a group of renegade video journalists in Burma who rely on handheld cameras, laptop computers and satellite Internet connections to transmit news from a closed nation.” [read more]
  

Kidnapped human rights activist Natalia Estemirova was found dead on July 17 in Ingushetia, Russia. Estemirova worked at Memorial’s Human Rights Centre in Grozny since 2000 and received many awards for her work, including the Anna Politkovskaya Award from RAW in WAR, an organization that supports women during armed conflicts. [read more]

Remembering Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski (1927 – 2009), a leading intellectual inspiration to Soviet bloc dissidents. [read more]

Nelson C. Ledsky, the director of the National Democratic Institute’s Eurasia programs for many years and a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service who retired with the rank of ambassador, died June 19 in Washington, D.C. [read more]