Civil Society Strengthening

The organizations currently presented in this section were chosen for their mission of fostering positive, democratic change around the world.

Open Access Journals

International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law
http://www.icnl.org/knowledge/ijnl/
IJNL is a quarterly journal of analysis on global civil society.

Organizations, Institutions and Networks

Africa Action
http://www.africaaction.org/index.php
Africa Action is the oldest organization in the U.S. working on African affairs. Their mission is to change U.S. Africa relations to promote political, economic and social justice in Africa.

Albert Einstein Institution
http://www.aeinstein.org
The Albert Einstein Institution is a nonprofit organization advancing the study and use of strategic nonviolent action in conflicts throughout the world.

America's Accountability/Anti-Corruption Project (AAA)
http://www.respondanet.com
Aims to increase public awareness about the disastrous effects of government corruption on society and to foster transparency and accountability in the administration of public resources by governments in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.

American Center for International Labor Solidarity (Solidarity Center)
http://www.solidaritycenter.org
The Solidarity Center is a non-profit AFL-CIO allied organization that assists workers around the world who are struggling to build democratic and independent trade unions.

Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
http://www.apc.org
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of civil society organisations dedicated to empowering and supporting groups and individuals working for peace, human rights, development and protection of the environment, through the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), including the Internet.

Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs
http://www.cceia.org
The Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to research and education in the field of ethics and international affairs.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP)
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/
The Endowment conducts programs of research, discussion, publication, and education in international affairs and U.S. foreign policy.

The Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector (IRIS) at the University of Maryland
http://www.iris.umd.edu/
The Center helps government, business and civil society create and implement reforms that increase market oriented economic growth and strengthen democratic procedures.

Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD)
http://www.democ.uci.edu/democ/
The CSD, University of California at Irvine, focuses around three central themes: the relationship between citizens and their government, the performance of democratic governments, and the consolidation of new democracies.

Centre for Democratic Institutions
http://www.cdi.anu.edu.au/
CDI responds to the needs of developing countries in the field of good governance and democratic institutions.

Changemakers.net
www.changemakers.net
Changemakers' mission is to provide inspiration, resources, and opportunities for those interested in social change throughout the world.

Council for a Community of Democracies (CCD)
http://www.ccd21.org
Since 2001, CCD has devoted itself to advocating for democratic change and international cooperation by working with civil society and governments around the world to making the Community of Democracies (CD) a strong, democratic institution capable of addressing the needs of an ever-changing world.

Euroregional Center for Democracy
http://www.regionalnet.org/
The CED is a non-governmental and non-profit organization, that promotes democracy and stability in Central and South - Eastern Europe.

Freedom House
http://www.freedomhouse.org
Freedom House is a broad-based, non-partisan organization focused on promoting democratic values around the world and standing opposed to dictatorships.

Heinrich Boell Foundation North America / Heinrich Böll Foundation
http://www.boell.org
A political party foundation based in Germany the Stiftung provides assistance to democratic groups around the world.

International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES)
http://www.ifes.org
IFES is a nonprofit organization that provides nonpartisan technical assistance worldwide to promote democracy and serves as a clearinghouse for information about democratic development and elections.

Institute for International Studies (IIS)
http://iis.stanford.edu/index.html
The Institute for International Studies (IIS) conducts and promotes interdisciplinary research on key global and international issues at Stanford University.

International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX)
http://www.irex.org/civilsociety/index.asp
IREX (the International Research & Exchanges Board) is the premier US nonprofit organization specializing in higher education, independent media, Internet development, and civil society programs in the United States, Europe, Eurasia, the Near East, and Asia.

National Endowment for Democracy
http://www.ned.org
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, nonprofit organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts.

Olof Palme International Center
http://www.palmecenter.org/
The Olof Palme International Center works with international development co-operation and public outreach surrounding international political and security issues.

Open Society Archives
http://www.osaarchivum.org/
OSA's mission is to: obtain, preserve and make available research resources for the study of Communism and the Cold War, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the issues of human rights; support and facilitate the philanthropic goals of the Soros foundations network, especially by providing information, records management and archival services for all its entities.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
http://www.osce.org
The OSCE is a regional security organization which has been established as a primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nation.

Organization of American States (OAS)
http://www.oas.org/
The Organization of American States (OAS) is the hemisphere's primary policy forum for multilateral dialogue and action.

World Movement for Democracy
http://www.wmd.org/
The World Movement for Democracy is a global network of democrats including activists, practitioners, academics, policy makers, and funders, who have come together to cooperate in the promotion of democracy.