Democracy and governance

With the end of the Cold War, A.I.D."s foreign assistance program recognizes that politics is a development issue. Although democracy alone does not guarantee successful development, the policy paper asserts that democracy can be highly supportive of efforts to address development problems effectively. The paper outlines the primary areas of focus of the Democracy Initiative: (1) strengthening democratic representation--including elections through universal suffrage, representative political institutions, civil society, and the free flow of information; (2) supporting respect for human rights--though human rights education, respect for the rights of women, children, and cultural and religious minorities, and support for institutions that monitor and advocate respect for human rights; (3) promoting lawful governance--through legal and judicial systems and an accountable executive branch; and (4) encouraging democratic values--through civic education and leadership training. (Author abstract, from PN-ABP-767)