Democracy Research Guide : Introduction

Research ›› Democracy Research Guide

Political Parties and Political Leadership

There is tremendous variety in the NGOs, IGOs and other bodies with a presence on the Internet and the number of such Web sites grows daily. The organizations currently presented in this section were chosen for their mission of fostering positive, democratic change around the world.

Given the dynamic nature of the Web, this section is not an exhaustive list of relevant organizations and responsibility for site content and maintenance rests with the owners. Please note that the inclusion of an organization does not imply endorsement by the National Endowment for Democracy. If you would like to suggest a site to be added to this list please send a message to gingerr@ned.org.

Fondation Jean Jaures (France)
http://www.jean-jaures.org
Fondation Jean Jaures is the political party foundation of the Socialist party in France that provides assistance to democratic groups around the world.
Subject: Political Parties and Political Leadership
Region: Global
Languages: French

Research Tools:
1. archives to the foundation's journal Les Notes, as well as abstracts to their series of papers and studies, Actualites
2. links to organizations dedicated to democratic development

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
http://www.fes.de
A political party foundation based in Germany, the Stiftung provides assistance
to democratic groups around the world. The site is mostly in German.
Subject: Political Parties and Political Leadership
Region: Global
Languages: German; English; Spanish

Research Tools:
1. links to the journal International Politics and Society with archives, abstracts and ordering information.
2. maintains a collection (http://library.fes.de/library/english/index.html) of activities in the field of the history of labour movement and social history.
3. users can search their library's online catalog.
4. digital library of publications in both english and german languages.
5. IALHI project "Programmedition" database that contains programmatic fulltext documents of European trade union parent organizations and member parties of the Socialist International.

Friedrich Naunmann Stiftung
http://www.fnst.org
A political party foundation based in Germany, the Stiftung provides assistance
to democratic groups around the world.
Subject: Political Parties and Political Leadership
Region: Global
Languages: German; English; Spanish

Research Tools:
1. hosts bulletin board discussion on the Friedrich Naunmann Stiftung
2. links to other party resources

Hans Seidal Stiftung
http://www.hss.de
A political party foundation based in Germany, the Stiftung provides assistance
to democratic groups around the world. The site is mostly in German.
Subject: Political Parties and Political Leadership
Region: Global
Languages: German

Research Tools:
1. links to their publications
2. links to other German party foundations

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. The site is mostly in German
Subject: Political Parties and Political Leadership; Civil Society Strengthening; Economic Reform and the Business Sector
Region: Global
Languages: English; Spanish

Research Tools:
1. Full-text to reports are made available online
2. Information on events being held by the foundation
3. Links to web resources

Inter-Parliamenary Union (IPU)
http://www.ipu.org
The IPU is the international organization of Parliaments of sovereign States established in 1889. The Union is the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy.
Subject: Elections; Political Parties and Political Leadership; Measurement and Ranking; Legislative Development and Assistance
Region: Global
Languages: English; French

Research Tools:
1. PARLINE- a database containing general information on participanting Parliament's chambers, description of the electoral system, results of the most recent elections, information on the presidency of each Chamber, information on the mandate and status of members of Parliament.
2. PARLIT- a searchable bibliographic database on books and articles dealing with parliamentary law and practice
3. full-text, monthly web publication The Journal, which gives the latest news on parliamentary proceedings around the world
4. links to Parliamentary web sites, organized by country
5. Women in National Parliaments data and bibliographic database
6. links to other organizations
7. information on current and past conferences

International Republican Institute (IRI)
http://www.iri.org
IRI is U.S.-based organization that provides grants to democracy activists around the world. Projects range from grassroots political organizing and campaign management, to polling and judicial reform.
Subject: Civic Education; Elections; Political Parties and Political Leadership
Region: Global
Languages: English

Research Tools:
1. daily summaries of current political developments in the world
2. video library containing video clips of various presentations

Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation
http://www.moderat.se
The Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation works with the principles of democracy and liberty in order to better inform European civil society in the matters of European integration and cooperation.
Subject: Political Parties and Political Leadership
Region: Global
Languages: Swedish; English; German; French; Spanish; Arabic

Research Tools:
1. full-text of their newsletters

Konrad Adenaur Stiftung
http://www.kas.de
The political party foundation of the German Christian Democratic party, the Adenaur Stiftung supports groups seeking to build democracy and democratic institutions around the world.
Subject: Political Parties and Political Leadership
Region: Global
Languages: German; English; French; Spanish

Research Tools:
1. links to other party institute web sites

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
http://www.ndi.org
Based in Washington, NDI provides nonpartisan, practical assistance to citizens and their civic and political leaders who are working in support of democratic practices and institutions. Work involves joining with democrats around the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and promote citizen participation.
Subject: Political Parties and Political Leadership; Civic Education; Elections
Region: Global
Languages: English

Research Tools:
1. full-text versions of NDI reports on elections in developing countries (listed by country)

Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (IMD)
www.nimd.org
The IMD supports the process of democratisation in young democracies by strengthening political parties as the pillars of parliamentary democracy in order to help create a well-functioning, sustainable, pluralistic system of party politics. This foundation was established on 18 April 2000 by the Dutch political parties PvdA, VVD, CDA, D66, Green Party, RPF, SGP and GPV.
Subject: Political Parties and Political Leadership
Region: Global
Languages: English; Dutch

Research Tools:
1. full-text of their newsletters
2. links to other party institute web sites