Strengthening Forces for Democratization

Having recently completed major studies of democratization in Eastern and Central Europe, the Institute is assessing lessons learned from the democratic transitions in post-communist states and how best to apply these lessons in the Middle East (including the Arab Gulf states and Iran), the Eastern Mediterranean (Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, and, to some extent, Turkey), and Central Asia (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan). The aim of the project is to develop public diplomacy strategies to support and further the emergent movement toward democracy in these regions, a movement that is in danger of being reversed by a coalition of anti-democratic forces, including terrorist organizations, doctrinaire religious institutions (e.g., various Islamist groups), authoritarian leaderships, and military cliques. The public diplomacy strategies will be tailored to the cultures and sensitivities of the targeted countries, and the project will be designed to help shape official U.S. public diplomacy activities.

 

This effort includes targeted research and analysis, a working group based in Washington, D.C., a high-level international meeting, a Washington, D.C., workshop (Strengthening Forces for democracy in the Middle East, held February 9, 2006), and possibly working group sessions within specific countries. Among other outputs, the project will produce memos to senior decision makers and published reports, including a public diplomacy campaign.