The Forum's research analyzes the conditions and challenges of democratic transition, reform, and consolidation around the world. Through its conferences, seminars, reports, edited volumes, and other research projects, the Forum examines the particular issues facing emerging democracies, troubled democracies, and transitional societies as well as the common problems of institutional performance and democratic quality that confront both new and established democracies.

The core of the Research and Conferences Program is the Network of Democracy Research Institutes (NDRI), a global association of think tanks that conduct research on democracy, democratization, and related topics in comparative government and international affairs. Included in the Network are independent institutions; university-based study centers; and research programs affiliated with other organizations. The Network was established to foster interaction among institutions, democracy scholars, and activists, to strengthen research on democracy, and to promote greater awareness of the diversity and vitality of democracy studies. Through a Web site, an electronic newsletter, professional exchange visits, and publication exchanges, the Network provides information about the work of its member institutes, including conferences and workshops, publications, and other activities.

Major events organized by the Forum in recent years include "China's Political Future" cosponsored in January 2003 with the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at the George Washington University; "Liberal Islam," cosponsored in September 2002 with the Middle East Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; and "Democracy Promotion: The End of the Transition Paradigm?" cosponsored with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in January 2002.
From 1998-2002, the Forum and the Sejong Institute in South Korea cosponsored the Democracy Forum for East Asia, which organized eight conferences on such topics as the role of civil society in promoting democracy, the democratization of political parties, and how the mass media fight corruption.

The Forum also regularly sponsors smaller meetings in Washington that focus on particular countries or regions, or on topical issues of democratic development, and that often include NDRI scholars and Journal of Democracy contributors as featured speakers. These and other Forum events bring policy makers, scholars, and activists together to share information, to discuss recent developments, and to identify ways to advance democracy.

Contact the International Forum for Democratic Studies:
1025 F Street, NW, Suite 800 ~ Washington, DC 20004 USA
(202) 378-9700 ~ Fax: (202) 378-9407 ~ forum@ned.org