The human and financial stakes are high in democracy promotion. It is not enough to know which contexts are most ripe or hostile for democratic development. Effective democracy promotion also requires knowing how to best design democracy aid programs to work within these external constraints, notes analyst Ashley Moran.
Landmark recent studies on U.S. democracy assistance worldwide found that democracy aid overall does have a positive impact on democratic development—and it has the most impact in Africa, Moran writes in Assessing Effectiveness of Governance Aid in Africa:
Donors must know not only that democracy aid and democratic progress are related in a particular context but also how democracy aid is most effectively designed to meet the particular needs of that context. The hope here is that an empirical analysis of the factors driving political change in diverse contexts can inform the design of democracy aid programs and in turn potentially help maximize their effectiveness in building governance capacity and societal resilience.
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations | 2172 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 | May 18, 2016 2:30pm to 5:30pm
Panel I
Mr. D. Bruce Wharton
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of African Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Mr. Thomas Staal
Acting Assistant Administrator
Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance
U.S. Agency for International Development
Mr. Steven Feldstein
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
U.S. Department of State
Panel II
Mr. Rushdi Nackerdien
Regional Director for Africa
International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Mr. Patrick Merloe
Senior Associate and Director of Election Programs
National Democratic Institute [a core institute of the National Endowment for Democracy]
Mr. John Tomaszewski
Acting Regional Director for Africa
International Republican Institute [a core institute of the National Endowment for Democracy]
Mr. Nii Akuetteh
Executive Director
The African Immigrant Caucus
