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democracyinternational · 4 months

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Renewing the Social Contract: Building Municipal Trust in Kosovo

By: Nicholas Battaile, Program Management Associate

Trust between people and their government is one of the essential underpinnings of functioning democracies. Research and evidence from around the world underscore that low public trust undermines citizens' willingness to engage in civic participation, which in turn reduces the accountability of government institutions. The result is a feedback loop that continually weakens trust. Although efforts to encourage transparency sound like a straightforward solution to address dwindling public trust, they have a mixed record of success. As Democracy International’s Kassidy Irvan wrote in her three-part blog covering trust at the municipal level, building lasting trust between officials and their constituents requires more than simply working to increase local governments’ transparency. People hold established, multifaceted views of their governments; many things influence public trust beyond the degree to which government shares information about its operations. Social and behavioral science research suggests that people's trust in government depends on the extent to which they perceive public servants as benevolent, competent, and honest. While the root of public distrust in municipal government may vary from case to case, interventions seeking to improve public confidence should always consider these three essential components of trust.

One approach aligned with this insight, called “intergroup contact intervention,” involves facilitating interaction between members of different groups to help diminish prejudices and encourage collaboration. In doing so, groups may see each other as more willing to cooperate and capable of arriving at a common ground. In other words, intergroup contact intervention often improves the group members’ perceptions of others’ benevolence and competence. This approach becomes more complicated, however, in situations where there is an imbalance of power between conflicting groups. Without addressing such a power disparity, intergroup contact can be completely counterproductive. When facilitating intergroup contact, it is imperative to level the playing field for all participants by establishing a fair process and preventing any one side from dominating the interaction. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Social Contract Activity in Kosovo, which DI implements, offers a programmatic illustration of how practitioners can apply an intergroup contact intervention to build trust between citizens and their municipal governments.

The Social Contract Activity has been ongoing in five pilot municipalities since the beginning of 2022 and is scaling up to include an additional 10 municipalities.[1] The core objective of the Social Contract Activity is to improve the relationship between Kosovo citizens and their municipal governments, particularly by establishing sustainable public participation practices supported by officials and citizen groups. The issue of trust runs both ways in this environment. While citizens distrust existing public participation mechanisms and doubt local governments’ interest in genuine engagement, a significant number of municipal officials perceive citizens as lacking the competence or motivation to take advantage of civic engagement opportunities.

To better understand the perspectives of both citizens and municipal officials, the Social Contract Activity team conducted assessments exploring both sides’ beliefs about the underlying causes of municipal service delivery challenges. These assessments aimed to draw out the perceived barriers and enablers to public participation among citizens and officials. They also sought to delineate the roles that key stakeholders play in each community’s public participation process. Through two rounds of workshops, the first with municipal officials (referred to as Behavioral Harvest Workshops) and the next with citizens (referred to as Interactive Workshops), the team learned about factors distinct to each municipality that deterred or aided cooperation between officials and citizens.[2] Following the assessments, the Social Contract Activity team facilitated a subsequent round of workshops in each municipality, bringing municipal officials and citizens together to identify entry points for introducing effective, feasible public participation practices. The workshop participants selected at least two issues that they agreed could be addressed through active public participation. Then, the team worked with participants to formulate action-oriented plans (Social Contract Agendas) to resolve each issue and sustain emerging valuable public participation practices beyond the life of the program.

By introducing intergroup contact interventions in the form of the Social Contract Agenda workshops, positive interactions emerged between municipal officials and citizens, offering an opportunity to reshape participants’ perceptions of each other as reliable local partners, even in the face of initial mutual distrust. Through collaborative activities, citizens and officials could reevaluate whether the other group was benevolent enough to genuinely engage on community issues and competent enough to cooperatively resolve those issues. To avoid the interference of the obvious power imbalance between government officials and private citizens, workshop participants selected Social Contract Agenda issues by voting.

Each citizen had an equal say in deciding where they wanted to effect change in their community, reinforcing the perceived honesty of the process and those involved. Speaking after the completion of the Agenda workshops in the Municipality of Gjilan, one of the citizens said, “The objectives of this agenda help to openly support cooperation between municipal officials and citizens to solve their current problems, to help municipal officials and citizens to better understand their duties, and to build trust between the citizens and the municipal administration, which seems like a very small step but carries a lot of weight.”

A year after finalizing the Social Contract Agendas in the Activity’s pilot municipalities, officials and citizens are making steady progress in addressing their chosen community issues and have instituted public participation methods beyond the Agendas and the Social Contract Activity. For example, the Social Contract Activity helped the pilot municipalities introduce the practice of participatory budgeting, a process by which citizens vote on subjects that they want officials to spend a percentage of the municipal budget on. The municipalities have since replicated the process by their own initiative. The mayor of Prizren described the process as

enhancing opportunities for citizen inclusion in the budget planning process, which has led to an increase in confidence in the institutions of the Municipality of Prizren. As a result, citizens have more information on the municipal budget planning processes and an increased awareness of the way their direct participation contributes to joint decision-making.

This is an encouraging demonstration of the potential for countering the harmful feedback loop of public distrust by providing a setting for positive interaction.

[1] The pilot municipalities of the Social Contract Activity are Gjilan, Obiliq, Pristina, Prizren, and Suhareka.

[2] The Social Contract Activity team intends for the Behavioral Harvest Workshops to 1) leave municipal officials with an understanding of social and behavioral science and its potential in helping them complete their objectives, 2) identify an objective to focus on and behavior(s) that must change to achieve it, and 3) identify influences on the target behavior(s).;

Through the Interactive Workshops the Social Contract Activity team aims to 1) asses the state of public participation in the municipality from the direct experience of citizens; 2) identify enablers and barriers to citizen public participation; and 3) identify the ideal chain of communication between citizens and officials within existing municipal mechanisms.

#program update #kosovo #international development #democracy international #usaid #latest #governance #trust #social and behavioral science #municipal government #Social Contract Activity #Social Contract Agendas

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democracyinternational · 4 months

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Democracy International Wins Multi-Million Dollar IDIQ to Further USAID’s Localization Efforts Worldwide

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded Democracy International (DI) the Compliance and Capacity Support for Diverse Partnerships (CCSDP) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The five-year mechanism from the Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships Hub of USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Development, and Innovation, which has a $250 million shared ceiling, represents a significant milestone in DI’s effort to advance effective and inclusive development partnerships. The CCSDP IDIQ aims to ensure that local partners and governments have the capabilities and resources to serve as prime partners for USAID programming and supports USAID Missions to improve and expand local partnerships.

“We are deeply honored to be selected as a holder of the CCSDP IDIQ mechanism,” said DI President and CEO Eric Bjornlund. “This recognition underscores DI’s dedication to working with USAID to advance localization approaches that contribute to the sustainability and effectiveness of development initiatives.”

In partnership with Abt Associates and KPMG International, DI is ready to collaborate with USAID Missions and Operating Units globally to implement CCSDP programming. Through this IDIQ, USAID can leverage DI’s evidence-based approaches to localization. DI and its partners offer services including monitoring, evaluation, and learning; risk mitigation; and tailored capacity strengthening for local actors.

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Democracy International supports active citizens, responsive governments, and engaged civil society and political organizations to achieve a more peaceful, democratic world. By developing and using new knowledge, tools, and approaches and drawing insights from behavioral science, DI works to change people’s lives and improve development assistance.

#program update #democracy #governance #democracy international #international development #usaid #latest #localization #local partners #MEL #monitoring #capacity strengthening #risk mitigation #CCSDP

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democracyinternational · 5 months

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Recognizing the Life and Passing of Former First Lady of the United States Rosalynn Carter

Democracy International recognizes the life and mourns the loss of Former First Lady of the United States Rosalynn Carter. Mrs. Carter’s life was a testament to the power of advocacy and unwavering commitment to the betterment of society. Her tireless efforts spanned many crucial causes, and the value of her work advocating for better mental health, women’s rights, and caregivers was enormous.

Among Mrs. Carter’s many significant accomplishments was the pivotal role she played in establishing The Carter Center, an organization committed to advancing peace, health, and human rights. Through The Carter Center, Mrs. Carter addressed global challenges and worked toward creating a more just and humane world.

“Having seen Mrs. Carter’s work over many years on election observation programs in Indonesia, Zambia, the West Bank and Gaza, and elsewhere, I can attest to her empathy, keen political judgment, and principled commitment to democratic values,” said DI President Eric Bjornlund. “Mrs. Carter was herself a key leader of Carter Center programs and contributed immeasurably to spreading acceptance of norms of international election observation and of democratic principles more generally."

As we reflect on the extraordinary life of Mrs. Carter, we pay tribute to her not only for her achievements but also for the compassion, poise, and determination with which she approached every cause. Her legacy will continue to inspire us to strive for positive change and make a difference in the lives of those in greatest need.

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democracyinternational · 6 months

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Contextualizing Social and Behavioral Science: A Case Study in Liberia

By: Alexei Acacio, Technical Specialist - Social and Behavioral Science

In recent years, both social and behavioral science (SBS) approaches and context-driven adaptation have become increasingly important in international democracy, human rights, and governance programs. On one hand, SBS has emerged as a tool to achieve democratic outcomes by nudging people toward desirable behaviors, such as voting. SBS, prized for its ability to consider principles of human psychology—ranging from our limited ability to remember to our vulnerability to social pressures—has gained favor among practitioners due to its versatility and nearly universal applicability. On the other hand, context-driven adaptation recognizes that the incentives that lie behind observed behaviors are rarely the same from one situation to the next. This means that programs committed to both SBS and context-driven adaptation often find themselves wrangling with a thought-provoking question: How do we reconcile universal human tendencies with context-specific insights?

Democracy International’s USAID-funded Elections & Democracy Activity (EDA) in Liberia serves as a compelling case in this regard. As part of its inclusive development strategy, Democracy International (DI) works closely with its partners in EDA to develop a communications strategy to encourage Liberian citizens, especially women and youth, to engage with the democratic process. The objective is not just to raise awareness but also to change behaviors by using SBS insights to communicate the value of civic engagement. EDA used these insights as a starting point, yet soon discovered that there were not enough data to adapt SBS interventions and know what messages would resonate in the Liberian context.

Reflecting its commitment to Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA), DI incorporated two sets of focus groups on civic voter education and women’s political participation. In the lead up to Liberia’s voter registration period, DI worked with local partners to recruit focus group participants, arrange meeting space, and develop a comprehensive data-collection protocol. DI’s team then travelled to counties where grantees work, using interactive activities to elicit diverse viewpoints and see which messages citizens find meaningful, engaging, and memorable. The resonance of certain messages became evident even before the data-collection processes concluded.

DI promptly shared findings with EDA partners, which allowed them to revise the posters and jingles they created for the communications strategy just as elections began to dominate everyday conversations. Evidence-based adaptations, like the ones described in Figure 1, while subtle, are crucial to ensure that messaging is responsive to the local context and is more likely to spur behavior change. The focus groups also helped avoid overgeneralizing SBS principles. Although SBS evidence points to the importance of personalizing messages, for example, the focus groups revealed that the generic “Elections are everybody’s business!” message resonates with Liberians across counties and demographics. DI shared this insight with its EDA partners, which continue to incorporate this inclusive message into their voter education campaigns.

Figure 1: While these two posters look identical from afar, the one on the right reflects both SBS best practices and evidence from the focus groups. Using separate callouts reduces “cognitive overload” by dividing the quote into smaller, more manageable pieces. Meanwhile, the message citing wide disapproval of violence harnesses the power of social norms to encourage peaceful conduct during the elections. Posters published with permission from Supporting Citizen Initiatives for Development in Africa.

In the months following the civic voter education focus groups, DI continued to use the empirical findings to inform all aspects of its EDA work, including election outreach to more than 180,000 voters. As the program engaged partners supporting women’s political participation, however, it became apparent that advancing gender inclusion involves tackling complex norms and requires nuanced messaging. With the benefit of more time to plan, input from a network of women’s leadership experts, and experience from the previous exercise, DI engaged citizens throughout Liberia to understand what issues matter to them and how women’s political participation fits into that picture. Applying lessons from the earlier research, DI developed a data-collection protocol to include same-gender facilitators, refined the interactive activities to better accommodate people-with-disabilities, and iteratively tested messages based on what participants themselves recommended.

Figure 2: As part of an interactive activity in the focus groups on women’s political participation, the facilitator read out messages to participants, before asking them to indicate their agreement by standing between a thumbs-up and thumbs-down sign. To accommodate persons with disabilities, DI adapted the activity and asked participants to indicate agreement using their hand or by marking a piece of paper, as needed.

In the women’s political participation focus groups, DI engaged more than100 participants in five counties in just three weeks. After conducting a comprehensive debrief and reviewing over 24 hours’ worth of transcripts, DI coupled SBS insights with original data from the focus groups to develop a set of recommendations tailored to the Liberian context. Evidence from SBS suggests, for example, that deeply ingrained gender stereotypes are resistant to change, and campaigns aimed at raising awareness may inadvertently normalize these stereotypes. In response, DI recommended to its Liberian partners that instead of challenging people’s beliefs and attitudes, messaging should emphasize how women are already leaders. As the focus groups revealed, women in Liberia are positively associated with motherhood, health, and peace. By highlighting examples of women leading during crises or facilitating peace talks, messaging can frame women’s political participation not as an entirely unfamiliar concept, but as a simple extension of the role that women already occupy in society. DI recommended that EDA partners consider using phrases that focus group participants themselves expressed—such as “Women bring peace,” “Women bring health,” and “Vote for Mama Liberia”—in their messaging. Such themes made their way into jingles, radio shows, and other civic education materials across the country.

Figure 3: The women’s political participation focus groups revealed wide reverence for the personification of “Mama Liberia,” a finding that now informs EDA’s messaging strategy.

Another finding from the focus groups is that voters consider a leader’s ability to bring change, rather than gender, when choosing representatives. Almost counterintuitively, this runs contrary to people’s natural resistance to change, a phenomenon that is well documented in SBS literature. This points to a potential silver lining. Given Liberia’s traditional association of politics with men, women aspirants represent a break from the status quo and could therefore benefit from voters’ strong desire for change. As the focus groups suggest, messages such as “Women are agents of change” are likely to resonate and may ultimately be more likely to change behaviors to the benefit of women’s political participation. Yet again, this illustrates the importance of considering SBS research in light of context-specific evidence. Such an approach ensures the efficacy of messaging and, perhaps more important, amplifies local voices.

In the quest to strengthen Liberian democracy, social and behavioral science offers promising tools to ensure that efforts benefit from evidence. However, it is rarely enough to simply apply best practices, no matter how innovative or scientific they may be. Rather, as DI’s experience implementing EDA reveals, advancing civic engagement and women’s political participation requires speaking with, and listening to, diverse citizens and collecting data on what matters to them and why. Through this process, programming can advance democracy in a manner that is responsive, evidence-based, and locally driven.

#democracy #elections #liberia #latest news #women's political participation

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democracyinternational · 6 months

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DI and Norsaac Launch Local Public Service Performance Accountability Project with Regional Sensitization Workshops

TAMALE, GHANA — Democracy International (DI) and Norsaac, a community-based organization focused on human rights and policy in Ghana, launched a transformative project aimed at improving accountability in local public service delivery as part of the $17.5 million Performance Accountability Activity (PAA) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). DI implements the PAA in close collaboration with Government of Ghana partners and local civil society organizations (CSOs), including Norsaac, in 70 districts across Ghana’s 10 regions.

DI and Norsaac began this endeavor with more than 20 regional and district-level sensitization workshops, which are designed to inform key stakeholders about the project's objectives, scope, strategic approach, and anticipated accomplishments. To introduce the project to key state and nonstate stakeholders, identify opportunities, anticipate potential barriers, and explore strategies to overcome these challenges while ensuring the project's long-term sustainability, DI and Norsaac convened five regional workshops bringing together diverse stakeholders from the Northern, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West, and Northeast regions. These stakeholders included the Regional Coordinating Councils; Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies; local CSOs such as Grameen and Community Development Alliance; and representatives from USAID/Ghana’s Democracy, Rights and Governance Office. DI and Norsaac also conducted 18 district-level workshops.

Despite efforts by the government and partners to improve the quality and accountability of local public service delivery, Ghana continues to grapple with persistent challenges in delivering public services related to education, water, sanitization and healthcare, agriculture, and fisheries. The PAA, characterized by its inclusive, sustainable, collaborative, and behavior-driven approaches, promises to deliver immediate and lasting effects.

In a statement delivered at the workshop in Tamale, DI Deputy Chief of the Party Linda Ofori-Kwafo emphasized the project's core objectives, which include increasing citizen demand for responsive service delivery, enhancing government service efficiency through robust regulatory standards, and empowering local-level public service providers to uphold quality standards by strengthening the connection between Ghanaian values and performance standards. The PAA will enhance the capacity of government partners, including ministries, agencies, and district assemblies in 70 focus districts, as well as civil society and community-based organizations to implement behavior-led capacity-building and institutional strengthening interventions.

During the event in Tamale, Alhaji Alhassan Shani, the Northern Regional Minister, stressed the importance of districts involving citizens in all their activities and underlined the necessity of accountability and transparency. He commended the PAA, recognizing its potential to enhance public service delivery at the local level, and expressed full support for its implementation. Mr. Shani called upon the Regional Coordinating Council, chiefs, queen mothers, media, and all stakeholders to contribute to the successful implementation of the program.

Mohammed Awal, the Executive Director of Norsaac, emphasized how the PAA would empower citizens to engage effectively with local public service providers. This, in turn, would enhance accountability, both at the national level, where a significant portion of national resources is allocated, and at the decentralized level, where the focus is on local resource mobilization efforts. Mr. Awal underscored the timeliness of the initiative, given the prevailing economic challenges worldwide, which has further limited the availability of resources. He emphasized the need for efficient and accountable use of the nation's limited funds to drive development.

#program update #governance #democracy #international development #democracy international #latest #ghana #performance accountability activity

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democracyinternational · 6 months

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DI Election Observation Mission Finds a Successful Rerun in Liberia's Nimba District 4, Liberians Commend NEC for 2023 Presidential and General Elections

By: DI's Elections and Democracy Activity Team

The Democracy International (DI) team that observed the re-run in Beo Lontuo in Nimba County District 4 found that the election process complied with NEC procedures and was peaceful. Just over 600 Liberians cast ballots on October 20, 2023, after the National Elections Commission re-ran all three Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives elections at this location.

With significant security at the two polling places, elections were repeated because two ballot boxes were stolen and destroyed by members of the public, and other ballots were damaged on October 10, 2023. DI covered the day of voting, the counting, transport to the magistrate’s office, and the tallying the next day. DI noted the pres- ence of domestic observers from ECC and LEON and USAID international observers. DI saw party agents from four political parties fielding candidates in this district's polling stations.

As in its October 14, 2023, preliminary statement following Election Day, DI commended the Liberian people for their high turn-out at 78.86% of all registered voters, placing Liberians in the top bracket of voter participation in the continent. Contrary to criticisms in the media, DI notes that the rate of invalid votes of 5.88% is in line with the average set by the African Union and matches the 2017 first round of voting in Liberia. Final results are expected from the National Elections Commission at its Daily Press Briefing on October 24, 2023, and on https://re- sults.necliberia.org/. DI observers have attended all NEC press briefings in person. As part of its assistance to the National Elections Commission, with the generous support of the American people through USAID, DI provides sign-language interpretation as part of the live televised coverage. With the UNDP and its partners, DI has also provided copies of a broad array of important NEC documents at these events.

DI again congratulates the National Elections Commission and its poll workers for their professional delivery of these elections, despite the many challenges of doing so. DI observed firsthand the Commission's and its staff's work and researched Liberian opinion immediately before and after the October 10, 2023, Election Day. DI con- ducted radio listener surveys in nine counties: Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Lofa, Maryland, Nimba, and Sinoe – one September 27 to 30, 2023, in all nine, and another October 12 to 14, 2023, in all but Lofa and Maryland. Preliminary findings from these surveys indicate:

Nearly every caller reported hearing civic voter education on the radio station (88–100%). These findings match another radio survey conducted independently by Geopoll during the pre-election period that determined that 54% voting public in Liberia is “very much informed” about the elections.

In DI’s radio survey, conducted by talk show hosts with the highest listenership on those community stations, of those who heard CVE, 19.1% of listeners could provide the content of that message and attribute it directly to DI or a DI grantee unprompted.

Both before and after Election Day of those calling into the radio stations to participate in the surveys, the majority assessed the NEC’s performance as either “very good” or “fairly good.”

In the post-election survey, all respondents indicated they had voted, and the majority reported their election-day experience as “good”.

Still with a majority response but the lowest from across the seven post-election stations, 57% of the Grand Cape Mount listeners reported their Election Day experience as “good,” and 71% in that same county gave the NEC ratings of “very good” or “fairly good.”

Alongside other observers and partners supporting the National Elections Commission and democracy stakeholders in Liberia, DI will contribute its full findings and participate in lessons learned following these elections. Together with UNDP and its partners, DI’s Elections and Democracy Activity, funded by USAID, supported NEC’s 12 trainings of trainers for political party and candidate agents – including providing the sign language interpretation training tool – and six tactile ballot trainings to people living with hearing and sight impairments, again providing sign language interpretation.

On October 10, 2023, DI deployed 25 observers to six counties (Bomi, Bong, Grand Cape Mount, Margibi, Montserrado, and Nimba) in 19 of the country’s 73 electoral districts. The observation continues to demonstrate international support for the Liberian people in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The mission also contributes to DI’s ongoing work in Liberia, including with the National Elections Commission and the Election Coordinating Committee, a leading Liberian election observation group. DI works closely with Liberian organizations to encourage greater participation of marginalized groups, including women and youth, and deliver voter education nationwide. DI is organizing this mission in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, declared at the United Nations in 2005.

The Elections and Democracy Activity is a five-year, USAID-funded project designed to help Liberia overcome challenges facing its developing democracy by fostering inclusive, sustainable, democratic political development. Implemented by DI, EDA is cultivating a new cadre of accountable, diverse, inclusive leaders in Liberia to govern in the interest of their constituents as well as active, knowledgeable citizens that demand accountability. EDA works with the Government of Liberia and civil society organizations to achieve this through three interrelated objectives:

Increase leadership of marginalized groups in political processes,

Improve civic knowledge and sense of civic duty,

Advance self-reliance of the National Election Commission and civil society organizations to independently manage and observe all stages of the electoral cycle.

Democracy International provides analytical services, technical assistance, and project implementation for democracy and governance programs worldwide. Since its founding in 2003, DI has worked in 80 countries and has conducted election observation missions and election assistance programs in Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Haiti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Kenya, Indonesia, Mozambique, Pakistan, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tunisia, among other places. Democracy International is a signatory to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers.

#program update #elections #democracy #liberia #election observation #democracy international #latest

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democracyinternational · 6 months

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DI Redeploys Observation Mission for the October 20 Rerun in Liberia's Nimba District 4 for the 2023 Presidential and General Elections

By: DI's Elections and Democracy Activity Team

Democracy International (DI) announced today that it is re-deploying its specialized observation mission by sending three of its observers to witness the re-run in Beo Lontuo, Nimba County District 4 for the 2023 General Elections for the President, Senate, and House of Representatives in Liberia. Liberians voted on October 10, 2023. The National Elections Commission announced that elections are being re-run at two polling places in this location because two ballot boxes were stolen and destroyed by members of the public, and other boxes were damaged during the incident. This mission follows that deployed by DI on October 10, 2023, with 25 observers to six counties (Bomi, Bong, Grand Cape Mount, Margibi, Montserrado, and Nimba) in 19 of the country’s 73 electoral districts.

In its October 14, 2023, preliminary statement following Election Day, DI commended the Liberian people for their high turn-out, reported by the NEC on October 18, 2023, to be 78.8% with most, but not all, tallies complete. With 1,833,189 valid votes out of 1,947,786 cast tallied thus far, DI notes the 5.88% rate of invalid ballots (114,597) is similar to the African average and past Liberian elections. Given the challenges of running elections in Liberia and doing so independently for the first time since the civil wars, the NEC and the Liberian electorate have reason to feel proud of the process thus far.

DI again congratulates the National Elections Commission and the NEC poll workers for their professional delivery of these elections, despite the many challenges of doing so. DI trusts that the Beo Lontuo re-run elections will continue the national experience of a predominantly peaceful election.

The mission continues to demonstrate international support for the Liberian people in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The mission also contributes to DI’s ongoing work in Liberia, including with the National Elections Commission and the Election Coordinating Committee, a leading Liberian election observation group. DI works closely with Liberian organizations to encourage greater participation of marginalized groups, including women and youth, and deliver voter education nationwide. DI is organizing this mission in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, declared at the United Nations in 2005.

Increase leadership of marginalized groups in political processes,

Improve civic knowledge and sense of civic duty,

Advance self-reliance of the National Election Commission and civil society organizations to independently manage and observe all stages of the electoral cycle.

#program update #democracy #elections #usaid #international development #democracy international #latest #liberia

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democracyinternational · 7 months

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Democracy International's Election Observation Mission for Liberia's 2023 Presidential and General Elections: Preliminary Post-Election Statement

By: DI's Elections and Democracy Activity in Liberia team

Democracy International conducted a specialized election observation mission to Liberia for elections on October 10, 2023. The following statement is the team’s official assessment, issued soon after election day.

Democracy International (DI) deployed a specialized observation mission for the elections in Liberia on October 10, 2023. DI congratulates the people of Liberia for their remarkable turnout during this significant moment, the National Election Commission (NEC) for successfully delivering its first fully independent election since the country’s recent civil wars, the NEC staff for diligently conducting their duties, and the candidates—particularly women and others from underrepresented communities—who offered to serve by putting their names forward for consideration by the electorate. Following a largely violence-free election day, DI urges all Liberians, including political parties and candidates, to remain calm and peaceful while waiting for the NEC to announce the election results and through the formal complaints process that will follow, if required.

For the 2023 General Elections for President, Senate, and House of Representatives in Liberia, DI fielded a specialized observation mission of international and Liberian citizens, led by Stephanie Lynn, Chief of Party of DI’s Elections and Democracy Activity (EDA) and accredited by the NEC. The mission deployed 25 mobile observers to six counties (Bomi, Bong, Grand Cape Mount, Margibi, Montserrado, and Nimba) in 19 of the country's 73 electoral districts. This preliminary statement summarizes the key findings from observer reports covering 67 polling precincts (102 polling places), including 22 polling station openings and 11 polling station closings (where observers returned to the same station they observed at the opening). DI observers did not remain in any stations through the completion of the count. DI observers received unfettered access to observe throughout the mission.

Preliminary Findings

DI’s election observers found that Election Day was predominantly peaceful, and the NEC polling staff, party agents, and security forces were generally professional. The polling stations our observers visited experienced significant voter turnout at the poll opening time, with voters displaying notable enthusiasm to cast their ballots. Despite the large turnout, voting took place mainly in an orderly, calm, and peaceful environment, with no incidents of violence reported throughout the day. The civic voter education conducted over the past 12 months, particularly during the campaign period by the NEC and its partners, may have contributed to the turnout and the peaceful environment and merits further examination.

Half the polling stations visited opened at 8:00 a.m. and the other half within the first 30 minutes of the official poll opening time. At the polling stations our observers visited, sufficient NEC staff members were present, showed a good understanding of the opening procedures, and followed the required steps. In most stations visited, the percentage of women and youth voters and poll workers was high. DI observed only one instance of inappropriate campaign activities at a polling station and only one location where campaign materials were within 100 meters of the stations visited. At locations that did not open on time, some voters became impatient and expressed frustration by shouting or pushing others to maintain or move forward in the lines.

Party agents and local and international observers were present in large numbers at the stations visited, often as many as a dozen in each station in a single precinct. (Given its support of the NEC’s Party Agent Training of Trainers DI was pleased to see this high degree of interest from political parties and independent candidate agents.) Although this high degree of participation likely contributed to transparency, the large numbers of people present in stations, especially at the beginning of the day, added to the challenges of efficiently managing the polling stations and sometimes slowed the opening process as NEC staff responded to party agent and observer questions. The NEC staff demonstrated professionalism and accommodated these agents and observers effectively. Despite the large crowds of voters in the sometimes small, dark locations used for balloting, DI observers did not observe any significant incidents during the day and reported a requisite, appropriate security presence in all but one station.

The polling stations our observers visited closed the voting queue on time, with an average of 20 minutes of additional voting time to accommodate voters remaining in the queue at 6:00 p.m. The NEC staff followed the closing procedures strictly, and the behavior of the party agents, still present in large numbers, was also commendable.

DI observed that some of the stations visited were inaccessible to persons with disabilities, making it difficult for them to participate meaningfully. At the accessible stations, tensions arose with other voters already in the queues when elderly individuals, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities were given priority in the voting process. It appeared that some voters were unaware or unsupportive of the need to accommodate these voters. On the other hand, in almost every station, DI witnessed those requiring assistance to vote receiving that support according to the electoral provisions. DI noted that all precincts visited had tactile ballot sleeves available, and we observed them in use twice. (Given DI’s support for NEC training on using tactile ballots for persons with disabilities across Liberia, seeing this in action was gratifying.)

Most of the challenges faced by the NEC in effectively managing these elections can be attributed to managing Liberia’s infrastructure challenges (state of the roads, public buildings, phone/internet, light, and electricity) and operating within the limited funding available.

DI will continue to observe the post-election process through and after the announcement of the election results. A final report will be issued upon the completion of the entire process. DI’s observer mission findings and lessons learned through a series of post-election assessments will contribute to DI’s ongoing work with the NEC and DI’s civil society and legislative partners in advancing the participation of marginalized groups and in support of civic education.

Conclusion

DI has worked in Liberia for two years and has conducted two previous specialized election observations for by-elections in November 2021 and June 2022. During the current election observation mission, DI engaged directly with domestic election observers - the Elections Coordinating Committee and the Liberia Elections Observers Network - and multiple other observer missions, including most closely with the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa; participated in the Embassy election control room; connected with the NEC Data Center and Tally Center; and visited the Angie Brookes Foundation Women’s Situation Room and Integrity Watch Liberia’s Political Party Campaign Finance Tracking activity. DI maintained regular contact with its network of over 30 Liberian civil society organizations and community-based organizations nationwide through the pre-election and election periods.

Liberia has 2,471,617 registered voters choosing from among 46 political parties and hundreds of independent candidates on the ballots, at 5,890 polling stations in 2,080 polling precincts. The NEC reported that voting concluded - although delayed in some stations in two Sinoe County precincts due to a flooded river preventing voting on October 10 - on October 13, 2023.

(1) Increase leadership of marginalized groups in political processes,

(2) Improve civic knowledge and sense of civic duty,

(3) Advance self-reliance of the NEC and civil society organizations to independently manage and observe all stages of the electoral cycle.

Democracy International is an international development organization based in the United States that provides analytical services, technical assistance, and project implementation for democracy and governance programs worldwide. Since its founding in 2003, DI has worked in 80 countries and has conducted election observation missions and election assistance programs in Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Haiti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Kenya, Indonesia, Mozambique, Pakistan, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tunisia, among other places.

Democracy International is a signatory to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers and has conducted its mission in accordance with these principles, which provide, among other things, that election observers must be independent and impartial, uphold the values of democratic government, and respect the national sovereignty of the host country. In accordance with the Declaration of Principles, DI has observed all phases of the election process, including the legal context and political environment for the election and the procedures for the balloting and counting on the election days.

This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of Democracy International, Inc. and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

#liberia #elections #democracy #latest news #democracy international #usaid

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democracyinternational · 7 months

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Democracy International Launches USAID-Funded “NASSEEJ” Project in Tunisia

Democracy International (DI) formally launched its five-year NASSEEJ project, funded by the United State Agency for International Development, on September 15. NASSEEJ, meaning “interwoven” in Arabic, focuses on addressing concerns of most importance to citizens with the potential to foster lasting, meaningful change by building linkages across and within sectors of society for better collaboration, cooperation, and unity.

At the project's launch event in Tunis, the United States Ambassador to Tunisia, the Honorable Joey Hood, affirmed the U.S. Government's commitment to supporting a stable and prosperous Tunisia. "We are committed to partnering with the Tunisian people and their elected officials to advance their priorities,” declared Ambassador Hood.

Also speaking at the launch event, DI Vice President of Program Management Naomi Rasmussen added, “We believe that when civic initiatives are focused on Tunisian priorities and needs, this alignment will increase the sustainability and effectiveness of civil society to promote resilience and the well-being of the Tunisian people.”

Implementation of NASSEEJ is underway and will continue through 2028. DI appreciates the opportunity to work with and support Tunisian citizens and shares USAID’s commitment in supporting positive and sustainable change in Tunisia.

#latest news #program update #tunisia #NASSEEJ

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democracyinternational · 9 months

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Liberian Youth Engage in Community Leadership Inspired by Political Leaders Training

By: Democracy International’s Elections and Democracy Activity in Liberia team

Democracy International’s USAID-funded Elections and Democracy Activity supports Liberian youth organizations to enhance and sustain their efforts in developing leadership skills, ensuring continued progress beyond the program's end. One way the program has achieved this is through the Liberia Emerging Political Leaders Training, which equips youth in Liberia with civic knowledge, electoral expertise, and leadership skills. The training is now reverberating through communities as young people step forward to initiate civic activities. DI’s implementing partners, IREX and Naymote Partners for Democratic Development, have already completed three training sessions, empowering approximately 1,000 young individuals across all 15 counties in Liberia.

To ensure the longevity and practical application of the training, IREX developed the Terry Hall Memorial Mentorship Program, named after a formed EDA staff member who dedicated his life to fostering youth leadership in Liberia. This program pairs graduating participants with established leaders from various sectors, aiming to guide and motivate the graduating trainees in implementing their new skills to bring about positive change in their communities. Together, the training and mentorship program demonstrates the dedication of DI, IREX, and NAYMOTE to nurturing and empowering the next generation of leaders in Liberia, ensuring that young changemakers have the necessary resources and support to thrive in their endeavors. 

As Liberia heads into the 2023 General and Presidential Elections, the participants from the training are inspired and advocating for youth-related issues and leading voter education programs, with some even aspiring to political office.

Inspiring Change: Training Participants Driving Positive Change in Liberia

Melvin Solomon Gertee, a participant in DI’s recent training program for young political leaders, stands among the aspiring young leaders with a deep-seated desire to run for public office. The training had a profound effect on Melvin, reigniting his long-held dream of becoming a Representative for District 3 in Bong County, Liberia. He credits the training for equipping him with the knowledge and confidence necessary to be a transformative leader. Currently, Melvin is developing his platform and plans to launch his campaign in the upcoming months. His inspiring journey has sparked enthusiasm within DI, where we eagerly look forward to witnessing more motivated youth candidates emerge, driven by their involvement in the training initiative.

Another training participant making significant contributions to their community is Vamuyan Lukay from Lofa County. Fueled by the program, Vamuyan leads a campaign for peaceful elections and founded the National Youth Connection—an advocacy platform dedicated to raising awareness among young people and promoting a peaceful electoral process. With unwavering dedication and under the guidance of a dedicated mentor, Vamuyan organizes thought-provoking group discussions on the right to vote, crafts influential platform manifestos, and receives invaluable advice on transformative leadership. His inspiring journey exemplifies the transformative power of the political leaders training, motivating fellow participants to take proactive measures and positively influence Liberia’s political landscape. 

In River Gee County, Francisco Hinneh, a dedicated training participant, established the “Alliance Youth for Peace and Democracy” with support from his mentor. The group actively conducts civic awareness in two of the county’s districts, educating citizens and students, especially first-time voters, on the voter registration process, the significance of obtaining a voter registration card, and the new biometric system. Through their efforts and mentorship, Francisco’s understanding of civic duties and leadership has grown, and his network of in-county professionals has expanded, enhancing his leadership skills.

In Bomi County, Joshua Saywah, who take part in the Terry Hall Memorial Mentorship Program, is delving into student politics at Bomi Community College where he aims to run for President in the student leadership election. As a first-time voter in the General and Presidential Election, he is passionate about conducting civic awareness among other first-time voters in his county. Joshua’s mentor actively guides him in planning civic education activities and provides coaching for his leadership ambitions. She also involves Joshua in advocacy initiatives, including social justice work and campaigns against sexual and gender-based violence. 

Sharley Joe from Rivercess County, the youngest participant in the mentorship program, founded “Children Against Poverty,” an advocacy group raising awareness of children’s rights through civic education activities on her school campus and local radio station. Sharley’s mentor actively supports her efforts, negotiating with school authorities to allocate time during school for her to speak to students and generously funding $3,000 for Sharley’s airtime on Radio Rivercess. 

The influence of the trainings keeps growing as these inspiring young individuals drive change in their communities. Through their efforts, trainees are promoting greater youth engagement and participation in civic and political activities across their counties. With three rounds of the training completed and the second mentorship cohort launched in June, more young people will gain the knowledge, skills, and dedication for civic and political leadership, leading to positive transformations in Liberia’s political landscape. 

#elections #democracy #leadership #latest news #Elections and Democracy Activity #liberia #usaid #program update #democracy international

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democracyinternational · 10 months

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Democracy International Wins USAID's Multi-Million Dollar IDIQ to Shape Prevention and Peacebuilding Initiatives Worldwide

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded Democracy International (DI) the Programming for Prevention and Peacebuilding (P4P2) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The IDIQ spans five years with a combined ceiling value of $800 million. This recognition underscores DI's commitment to fostering development outcomes in fragile, conflict-affected regions and countries through innovative, flexible, and effective interventions.

DI is ready to begin work with USAID Missions and Operating Units globally to implement activities under the P4P2 IDIQ mechanism with its exceptional global consortium, which includes Abt Associates, Blumont Inc., Element 84, J. E. Austin Associates, Making Cents International, the Sentinel Project, TAG International, Thomson Foundation, and University of Maryland - National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).

"We are grateful to USAID for selecting us for this critical IDIQ," said DI CEO and President Eric Bjornlund. "At a time where threats to stability and democracy inhibit human development and equity, DI brings a sustained commitment to using innovation and evidence in our global efforts to prevent violence, address fragility, and advance peace."

The P4P2 IDIQ aims to enhance development outcomes in areas grappling with violence, conflict, and fragility by implementing tailored interventions, including cross-border initiatives focused on peacebuilding and prevention. Under this mechanism, USAID will be able to leverage the DI team’s expertise to address key objectives, such as preventing the outbreak, escalation, or recurrence of conflict and violence, promoting peaceful and resilient societies, and adapting traditional development approaches to account for their effect on conflicts. For more than 20 years, DI has worked with communities and institutions around the world, and we look forward to continuing that critical work as USAID advances its commitment to localization. Together, we are committed to building brighter and safer futures for communities around the world.

Democracy International supports active citizens, responsive governments, and engaged civil society and political organizations to achieve a more peaceful, democratic world. By developing and using new knowledge, tools, and approaches and drawing insights from behavioral science, we work to change people’s lives and improve development assistance.

#democracy #governance #international development #usaid #latest #news #peace #peacebuilding

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democracyinternational · 1 year

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DI Supports Local Capacity in Liberia

By: Democracy International’s Elections and Democracy Activity in Liberia team

Grants to local organizations are a crucial component of Democracy International’s USAID-funded Elections and Democracy Activity (EDA), which aims to provide civic education and support for women's political leadership in the run-up to elections in Liberia in October 2023. Challenges to getting information about the election process and invigorating participation outside the capital city of Monrovia persist, however. Additionally, local organizations often find it difficult to prepare high-quality proposals for outside funding, and the level of participation of women in grant delivery has also been disappointing. To address these issues, DI and its partner IREX created a series of county-level "Applicant Conferences" at each call for grant proposals. This has furthered our commitment to localization, quality proposals, and organizational development for civil society organizations (CSO) and community-based organizations (CBO) across all 15 counties in Liberia.

Thus, in June 2022, DI and IREX held Applicant Conferences for the civic education grant process in Bong, Gbarpolu, Montserrado, and River Gee, hosting 140 people from 123 organizations in day-long gatherings. The goal was to describe in detail the objectives of the grant and the detailed requirements for the application, answer a wide variety of questions, and distribute copies of all materials (also available online). In July, we repeated this same process in Maryland County, Montserrado County, and Nimba County with another 157 participants from 111 CSOs and CBOs for those interested in the program’s Women’s Leadership grants.

The Applicant Conference and subsequent meetings with applicants provided the opportunity for DI to emphasize with potential grantees its requirement that women play key roles in CSOs receiving grants and in the project delivery, not just as recipients or participants in project activities and outcomes. By drawing in more women-led CSOs and more women from CSOs in this grant process, the Applicant Conferences and additional one-on-one meetings with applicants gave DI and IREX further insight into the organizational development needs of many of its potential partners as well as an opportunity to work with them to co-create specific programs. This reinforced our program decision to invest in capacity-building of groups and women CSO leaders through these grants.

Through the Applicant Conference, co-creation process, and commitment to the organizational development of all grantee partners, the CSOs in the program's orbit will be stronger and better equipped to continue to address the needs of a more diverse set of Liberians, especially outside the country's capital. As a result of DI’s intervention through the EDA, the quality of grants focused on civic education and women's leadership in Liberia is stronger, reflects a more diverse set of players, and engages Liberian organizations at the local level.

Even those who joined the process but did not receive grants under the program improved their skills for seeking future funding and are likely to fare better in subsequent applications to any program funder, not just USAID. This outcome can only help these CSOs serve the people of Liberia better. With elections coming later this year, the EDA has made seven grants to advance civic voter education and women's political leadership—launched through this applicant conference process—that are all now underway with hundreds of Liberians engaged across the country.

Photo credit: Supporting Citizen Initiative for Development in Africa (SCIDA), an EDA grantee

#Elections and Democracy Activity #program updates #latest #EDA #Liberia #democracy #elections

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democracyinternational · 1 year

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Sustaining the Movement: From Collective Action to Collective Memory

By: Dr. Brandon Hunter-Pazzara, Technical Specialist - Social and Behavioral Science

In the previous posts in our series on social movements and collective action, we described the evidence-based strategies that exist for motivating people to join and actively participate in social movements; and we outlined some of the important factors movement leaders and participants should consider when building effective and diverse coalitions. In this last post in our series, we turn our attention to the question of sustainability. How can diverse coalitions struggling for human rights and democracy effectively sustain nonviolent collective action campaigns?

For political theorist and feminist activist, Iris Marion Young, the bonds of solidarity that sustain collective action “must always be forged and reforged.” Social movements, and the diverse coalitions that comprise them, are neither permanent nor guaranteed. Even under ideal conditions, building effective and lasting social movements means resolving tensions between different groups, fortifying movement discipline, maintaining movement morale, and creatively adapting to new challenges, tactical setbacks, or impervious opponents. In 2023, conditions are far from ideal. At home and abroad, political actors deploy an assortment of illiberal tactics to seize and secure power, often acting through the law, or outside of it, to weaken their political opponents and repress any collective action that might challenge their authority. Activists around the globe increasingly operate in hostile political terrains where they are simultaneously deprived of the material resources they need to sustain collective action and subject to attacks by adversaries that can sow divisions within movements and lead to debilitating internal conflicts.

In response to these troubling circumstances, democratic governments have renewed their support for pro-democracy movements and democracy, human rights, and governance (DRG) practitioners like Democracy International stand ready to partner with activists in their campaigns to bring about change. Given the high stakes of these interventions, we believe that proceeding with an evidence-based approach to building sustainable movements offers the greatest chances for success. By learning how social movements have sustained themselves in the past and present, practitioners equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and insight to effectively aid democracy movements as they persevere during these perilous times.

What keeps a movement going?

To sustain their effectiveness, social movements need resources (money, space, equipment etc.) and people. In the early stages of movement building, coalitions might experience success securing both, but as time passes and new challenges arise, they often face difficulties attracting new resources and retaining membership. All social movements share these problems, but in contexts where nonviolent democracy movements confront illiberal opponents and authoritarian state actors, the obstacles they face to sustain their efforts can grow and intensify. Research identifies two broad categories of challenges that can hinder a movement’s sustainability: external and internal.

External challenges are issues that affect sustainability from the outside, such as the use of violent or repressive tactics by a movement’s opponents. This can include arresting and detaining leaders, violently attacking members during peaceful public demonstrations, and limiting organizations’ access to funding streams, office and meeting spaces, and communication outlets. Internal challenges refer to the issues that affect sustainability from within a movement, such as unresolved conflicts between different coalition members, power imbalances between leaders and rank-and-file participants, and depleted morale during extended periods of embattlement and entrenchment.

In practice, these challenges are often linked and mutually reinforced. In highly authoritarian contexts such as Russia, the state’s targeting and arrest of democracy activists has chipped away at movement morale and created a chilling effect across Russian civil society. At the same time, internal conflicts within a movement can cause coalitions to splinter and thus make it easier for opponents to implement divide and conquer strategies, as in Nicaragua. The complex political terrains that movements operate in necessitate that practitioners possess a detailed understanding of the context to know where these challenges are connected and how to best address them.

External Challenges

Movements must navigate a range of external challenges that can threaten the sustainability of their resources and reduce their membership. Opponents compound these problems when they are willing to use repressive tactics to confiscate resources and limit the activities of participants through intimidation, arrest, and incarceration. While the use of repressive tactics might come as a surprise, in many cases movement leaders are keenly aware of the legal and nonlegal tools available to the state to repress their activities. Practitioners should also be aware of these tools and can even add to the knowledge movements possess by undertaking a political-economy analysis that attends to the potential legal and security challenges that might emerge. When movements possess a clearer understanding of the external threats they face, they can better plan and prepare. The creative ways many have responded to attacks on their resources and members serve both as guidance and inspiration for practitioners working with organizations in other contexts.

Resource Management

The resources that sustain a movement are always vulnerable to attack and confiscation. Authoritarian actors often abuse the law to raid organization offices, freeze bank accounts, and seize property. In contexts like China, laws have been passed to limit organizations from receiving foreign funding or accepting charitable donations. Funders and implementers might want to respond to these tactics by providing organizations funds and other resources, since research shows that this kind of support can make a difference. One risk with this approach, however, is that it can lead opponents to label a movement a foreign agent and thus subject it to further attack and repression. At the same time, research points to other problems social movements can face when it comes to receiving external funding. Onerous grant requirements, for instance, may limit who can receive funds and how they can be used. Moreover, the introduction of external funding streams can counterintuitively weaken social movements by making them dependent on foreign funders, thereby threatening a movement’s sustainability and limiting its autonomy.

In anticipation of these dangers, social movements deploy different strategies to effectively deal with cuts to funding. The labor movement, for instance, has historically relied on membership dues rather than external donors. This not only ensures that a movement is self-funded but also offers members literal and figurative buy-in that can fortify their commitment and increase their likelihood to participate in collective action. Other movements have found success pursuing austere forms of organizing in which organizations keep overhead low by working and meeting in members’ homes, relying on volunteer labor rather than paid staff, and creating local mutual aid networks to distribute resources. Finally, some movements welcome foreign funding, but do so only after working with funders to identify needs, properly assess the risks of accepting funds, and devise internal mechanisms to ensure resources are used well.

Membership Discipline and Training

Movement discipline is a term of art used by researchers and activists to capture how closely members adhere to a movement’s goals, rules, and strategies. When a movement’s leaders and membership are targets of intimidation, threats, arrest, and even acts of violence from authoritarian regimes, the goal is to break a movement’s discipline. Regimes achieve this by either scaring members away, or by goading factions within a movement to abandon nonviolent tactics and respond with violence. As outlined in DI’s last post, movements are most effective when at the outset they create clear organizational structures, define their shared goals, and delineate the different roles and responsibilities of members. A highly disciplined movement can emerge from a centralized or decentralized organizational structure, with the latter form allowing for better adaptability in highly repressive contexts where leaders and movement spokes-people are targets of arrest and even assassination. Even when movements are highly organized, however, maintaining discipline can still be challenging, especially when facing credible threats of violence.

An effective solution to dealing with this issue is to provide members with training. While training membership can be resource- and time-intensive, social movements have successfully taught members how to remain peaceful when violently attacked during protests, effectively document acts of state violence for legal bodies and the media, practice “message discipline” when speaking with the media or communicating to the public, and guard against certain forms of surveillance and cyber-attacks. Other movements have used psychosocial training to help members express their fears and emotions in a healthy way as well as listen to their fellow members when they need help. One study found that training members on how to recognize and deal with trauma when working in high-risk contexts made a significant difference in member well-being. Training not only enhances members’ knowledge and skills, it can also function as a collective ritual that reaffirms a movement’s values, purpose, and goals.

Internal Challenges

The ability for movements to sustain themselves is not just a matter of the external obstacles they can overcome. Even without the presence of repressive tactics, the bonds of solidarity that hold diverse coalitions together are vulnerable to erosion from forces within the movement. Diverse coalitions must carefully balance a variety of interests and make space for members who may hold very different levels of political and social power in the larger society. The work it takes to build a movement’s membership and coalitional strength can easily be undone when certain members feel excluded or their concerns are ignored.

Working with social movements means recognizing these tensions. Practitioners risk exacerbating internal conflicts within a coalition when they operate without an understanding of the sociocultural dynamics in play and how they affect different groups within a movement coalition. Alternatively, when practitioners are cognizant of these issues, they put themselves in a better position to provide technical assistance that can help movements reinvigorate morale, resolve conflict, and ensure members feel included.

Movement Morale

The concept of movement morale helps to explain the emotional and affective dimensions of engaging in collective action. As the first piece in our series mentioned, movements can channel emotions like anger into organized protest, but to keep spirits high and members energized requires work. Internal tensions and external setbacks chip away at morale, and while a culture of shared sacrifice might allow participants to weather potential hardships, research finds that successful movements take proactive steps to boost morale during the life of a campaign.

This can take many forms, such as the creation of space for members to voice their grievances and concerns, the institutionalization of rituals that reinforce a movement’s collective identity, and the incorporation of art, entertainment, and fun into a movement’s activities and programs. As feminist theorist bell hooks stated, “we cannot have a meaningful revolution without humor.” In many contexts around the world, nonviolent social movements throw block parties, host community meals and dialogues, and incorporate visual art, music, and performance into their public demonstrations. Even moments of tragedy can serve as opportunities to buttress a movement’s morale. When leaders are arrested and members are injured or killed, holding vigils, public prayer, and other mourning rituals can reaffirm a movement’s moral identity and reinforce bonds between members. These strategies can make a movement more appealing to outsiders and provide the social nourishment that keeps members motivated and engaged.

Movement Inclusivity

The social movements that define the contemporary global struggle for democracy are not only demanding free elections and democratic rule, they are also calling for states to respect and protect the political, social, and economic rights of marginalized communities, to promote gender and LGBTQ equality, to incorporate youth into policy and governance, to protect the environments where people live, and to ensure citizens have access to dignified and meaningful employment. These various struggles reflect longstanding patterns of sociopolitical and economic inequality that manifest themselves in different ways depending on the context. Diverse democratic coalitions often begin their campaigns seeking to work as equals united by a shared goal, but over time the entrenched patterns of social and political inequality that a movement may be fighting against can creep into a coalition and generate discord. In these contexts, inclusivity is as much about ensuring movements are open to all voices who share the movement’s goals as it is about avoiding strict commitments to ideological purity that make it hard to broker compromises among differently situated organizations.

To mitigate against this danger, movements have devised several strategies for encouraging inclusivity. In Latin America, scholars have documented how feminist movements take deliberate steps to ensure leadership positions are representative of the movement’s constituencies and that decision-making occurs in a manner in which all affected parties participate. In other cases, inclusivity can mean identifying and addressing the material barriers that prevent certain groups from being more involved than others. For instance, labor unions sometimes provide childcare so that women and families can participate in organizing activities; or they compensate members for their time and effort as a way to acknowledge the economic barriers that burden particular groups. Finally, some movements invest the time and effort to study whether they are inclusive by learning from their more marginalized members and creating the forums where members can raise, understand, and resolve these concerns. These efforts not only strengthen a social movement, but they also provide movement members, and the society at large, an illustration of the promise of democracy for fostering inclusive decision-making. Practitioners can aid this work by providing technical assistance and research support to help movements identify inclusion gaps and craft meaningful solutions.

Sustaining a movement’s memory

In most cases, social movements fail to meet their stated goals. During this most recent period of global democratic decline, democracy movements around the world have been unable to continue their struggle without putting the lives of their members at risk. The result is that many groups have closed and disbanded. The history of pro-democracy social movements, however, reminds us that this is not the end. During the course of struggle, movements learn important lessons that can inform future organizing campaigns, and they may even force regimes to make modest accommodations that improve conditions and generate new openings for collective action. Campaigns live on in the memories of their members and their allies, eventually serving as the basis of alternative histories, inspiring myths, and causes for later generations to take up and continue. Many of today’s struggles for democracy build upon the legacy and wisdom of prior movements that fell short. These struggles are years, decades, and even centuries in the making, a humbling fact that illustrates how the fight for democracy, human rights, and equality can at times be repressed but never extinguished.

#collective action #collective memory #latest #social and behavioral science #SBS #sustainability

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democracyinternational · 1 year

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Growing the Movement: Supporting Democratic Change through Coalition Building

By: AJ Acacio, Technical Specialist - Social and Behavioral Science

In the first part of this blog series, we explored how to begin mobilizing collective action to promote democratic change. We identified barriers to participation, offered strategies to recruit sympathizers and bystanders, and discussed tactics to avoid. History tells us, though, that eliciting buy-in from a small number of actors is rarely sufficient. Organizers must also build and grow their movement, as research suggests that civil society organizations (CSOs) and other groups are more effective when they forge diverse coalitions. It is also often the case that a critical number of participants need to be engaged before a movement can bring about significant change. However, pulling together individuals and groups, who often have different incentives and diverging viewpoints, is easier said than done. So how do we go about this challenge? Evidence from the field of social and behavioral science (SBS) offers some insights.

1. Define common goals

For coalitions to grow, members need to unite toward common goals. Such goals may be broad, such as influencing climate policy or supporting women’s rights, or they can be more specific, such as reducing carbon emissions or fighting against gender-based violence. In any case, coalitions must define a clear vision and mission statement. Mobilizers can do this through candid conversations in which all members share their individual priorities before having the group identify a unifying shared interest. A study conducted in the Netherlands, for example, revealed that social movements are more likely to grow if goals are collective (e.g., reducing gas extraction) rather than individual (e.g., receiving financial compensation). Once they agree upon a goal, movement organizers should codify it into a mission statement. This helps build coalitions by clarifying to members why they should remain committed to the group and allowing prospective members to easily see if the group’s viewpoints align with their own.

There are many ways that democracy, human rights, and governance (DRG) practitioners can support mobilizers in defining common goals, from providing physical spaces to hold meetings and operating online forums for communications to conducting research to uncover shared interests and undertaking political economy analyses to identify common objectives.

2. Maintain shared identity

Coalitions are most successful when members feel a sense of unity. One way to achieve this is by forging and maintaining a shared identity. In a classic study in psychology, researchers found that identifying clear groupings can increase members’ cooperation with, and helping behaviors toward, their in-group. Coalition builders can leverage this effect to encourage buy-in both from current members and future ones. If coalitions communicate that a shared ideology, nationality, or another grouping unites everyone, then current members will be more likely to devote time and resources toward the common goal. Moreover, nonmembers may feel motivated to join to achieve a positive social identity. By leveraging this intrinsic human need to belong, mobilizers and their supporters and advisers can build and grow resilient coalitions.

With that said, leveraging a shared identity must be approached with care. Although identity politics is much to thank for the success of initiatives such as the Black feminist movement in the United States, critics call the strategy counterproductive and suggest it encourages violence. Regardless of intention, using shared identities often draws criticism due to perceptions of exclusivity and hostility. Movements should therefore strike a balance between maintaining a strong identity and not alienating nonmembers, keeping in mind that the most effective identities revolve around shared perspectives on key issues rather than gender, ethnicity, or other demographic divides.

3. Seek diverse allies

While common goals and shared identities form the bedrock of strong coalitions, the most effective movements are those that engage diverse actors, including those who hold what at first may seem like irreconcilable differences in identities or viewpoints. Bedfellows, broadly defined, refers to actors with a shared objective, regardless of a rocky history or vast differences in the motivations for the shared objective. For instance, despite diverging ideologies, Islamist women’s movements and Turkish LGBT groups have successfully allied together to campaign for broader civil liberties. Engaging bedfellows can build and grow coalitions because it increases the number of potential partnerships, forges connections between groups that may initially seem likely to be hostile toward one another and shifts the focus toward accomplishing specific objectives instead of forming ideology-based groupings. This is crucial not just for a coalition’s resilience but also for its agency and efficacy.

4. Build clear rules of membership

Once mobilizers identify goals and potential actors, it is essential for nascent coalitions to define clear rules for membership. For coalitions to be sustainable, members need to agree not just on what the central objective is but also on who is part of each conversation, how new members can join, and what the rules and expectations are for each actor. Coalitions must contend with questions such as: Who is eligible for membership? Is there a formal registration process? What are the expectations we have for all members? These are often difficult questions, but such reflection is crucial to ensure that coalitions are cohesive and that individual members know what their responsibilities to the movement are. Indeed, the literature suggests that instituting formalized rules of membership results in more stable coalitions and that having a constitution that governs expected behaviors can be useful. In multiparty states, for example, formal coalition agreements allow parliaments to avoid stalemate and pass laws by coordinating support among parties. Labor unions also maintain their effectiveness through both formal and informal rules that punish those who cross the picket line during a strike. Such agreements ensure that members acting against a coalition’s interest are met with political, social, or personal consequences. Here, DRG practitioners can work with movement organizers to define streamlined processes for joining, clarify member expectations, codify rules in written constitutions, and encourage cooperation among actors.

5. Establish clear decision-making mechanisms

A key tenet of any SBS-informed approach to development is that the focus should be on observable behaviors and actions. In this context, this means that it is not enough to have strong coalitions; such coalitions must also be capable of swiftly making decisions and galvanizing members toward collective action. For this to happen, establishing clear mechanisms is crucial. Coalitions inherently consist of actors with diverging interests, so it is critical to ask how they can make a decision for the entire group.

For maximum representation, coalitions might decide based on unanimity, in which all actors must agree before they pursue a specific collective action. This is useful in high-stakes decisions, such as joining a protest or signing an agreement. For lower-stakes situations, such as selecting a group logo or setting a meeting time, coalitions might consider faster decision-making processes such as one based on consensus, a system that considers all voices but follows a mutually acceptable course of action. And for time-sensitive matters such as deciding how to respond to a threat, coalitions may agree to appoint trusted leaders to decide unilaterally based on their assessment of what is best for the group’s interest. In sum, to ensure that coalitions can drive collective action, mobilizers are well advised to pre-define how each type of decision will be made and by whom. This can avoid decision paralysis and ensure that coalitions are prepared to respond to the evolving needs of their members and the movements they represent.

Clearly, much thought is needed when building and growing coalitions. Any collective action that seeks to join diverse actors across ethnic, geographic, ideological, and other divides is a challenging task, yet one that is worth pursuing in the interest of empowering people to take charge of their own destinies. While the tips we offer here are not exhaustive and may not apply to every context, we lay them out in the hopes of starting a conversation about evidence-based approaches to movement building. It is only by exploring these approaches that mobilizers and development practitioners can move the needle when it comes to driving collective action and promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance in all corners of the world.

Stay tuned for the final part of this blog series, where we discuss how to maintain and sustain movements.

#latest #social and behavioral science #SBS #collective action #coalition building #international development

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democracyinternational · 1 year

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Poll Workers, the “Unsung Heroes” of Liberia’s Elections, Celebrated by the National Elections Commission and USAID

By: Democracy International’s Elections and Democracy Activity Team

Through the Elections and Democracy Activity (EDA) poll worker essay contest in 2022, poll workers are finally getting the recognition they deserve on Liberia’s national stage. The contest offered an opportunity for local poll workers to share their stories and inspire others to get involved in the electoral process.

Historically, the National Elections Commission (NEC) has found recruiting local poll workers challenging, requiring a need to bring in workers from Liberia's capital, Monrovia, to more remote areas of the country. This influx of poll workers from outside local communities contributes to a misperception by some that the NEC “controls” the election from elsewhere. When the NEC hires poll workers from within local communities, however, confidence in the election process rises.

The EDA advertised a call for essays by poll workers nationwide describing their experience during elections to increase interest among citizens in becoming a poll worker in their communities, called "My Duty, My Country, My Future." The EDA extended the call for more stories into May, which resulted in dozens of essay submissions from all regions of the country. With stories of challenge and triumph, all equally lauded the power of contributing to Liberia's democracy through this form of service.

A selection committee of seven EDA, NEC, and USAID staff chose three essayists who most exemplified the role: Marroline Nohn Dangan, an election day queue controller in Sanniquellie District #2, Nimba County; Michael T. Yennego, a queue controller in Electoral District #10 in Monrovia, Montserrado; and Othello B. Seekie, a queue controller in the 2020 Special Senatorial election in Bandaquoi Town District #2, Grand Bassa County.

The USAID Mission Director hosted an award ceremony for the winners to celebrate their contributions. With the full Board of Commissioners in attendance, as well as remarks from the US Ambassador, the NEC Chairwoman, and the EDA Chief of Party, the event demonstrated that "This program represents a great partnership between the National Elections Commission, civil society organizations, and the United States Government," as noted by Ambassador Michael McCarthy.

Following the ceremony, the winners joined a talk show to read their essays and discuss their experiences further. The EDA rebroadcast the show on 18 more community radio stations around the country and published the essays in two nationally syndicated newspapers.

The EDA's domestic election monitoring partner, the Election Coordinating Committee, joined the call inviting Liberians to support the NEC as poll workers or volunteer monitors to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections in 2023 and beyond. By featuring and celebrating poll workers in advance of the NEC's call for more in 2023, this activity will encourage more Liberians to participate and can increase the expression of civic duty and confidence in the process. In early 2023, the NEC's Board of Commissioners called on the contest winners to serve as "ambassadors" as voter registration and poll worker recruitment began. With a history of election-related violence in Liberia, this celebration of the poll workers directly involved in delivering elections in their communities is a significant contribution toward advancing the security of all Liberians.

#election poll workers #elections #latest #news #program updates #Liberia #Elections and Democracy Activity #democracy

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democracyinternational · 1 year

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Civic Textbooks in the Hands of Liberia’s Primary Schools Children – Another USAID/ Liberia First

By: Democracy International’s Elections and Democracy Activity Team

New civic education textbooks are helping children in Liberia learn about Liberian democracy and civic participation. Democracy International's Elections and Democracy Activity, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), partnered with the Ministry of Education and Youth Movement for Collective Action (UMOVEMENT) to deliver civic education textbooks to primary school students throughout Liberia. Ten percent of Liberia's primary school students in grades one through six will get a civics textbook over the five-year program. For most of these students, this is their only textbook.

Following the Ministry of Education’s decision to formally reintroduce civic education in schools - after a 30-year break marked by civil wars and the country's rebuilding of civic life - the Elections and Democracy Activity worked with the Ministry of Education to print and deliver more than 60,000 civic education textbooks. With teacher training in targeted schools and UMOVEMENT support, early signs show children and teachers are learning, engaging, and applying civics lessons. Early indications also show that enrollment has increased given the excitement surrounding the books. "Teaching civics lessons to our children will result in restoring our respect and value as community leaders. Therefore, let all community stakeholders be involved," Saye Siaphayini, Whipa Public School Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) Chairman said during a meeting with the school administrators, teachers, and teaching learning officers.

UMOVEMENT and the Ministry of Education are working together to train Master Trainers at teacher training institutes and universities to effectively deliver and teach the material to students. During a recent training, facilitators discussed how teachers can ensure students are building critical thinking skills and actively learning the material; how elections tie to civics education; and how to build positive citizens, respect for the rule of law, and a sense of belonging.

USAID is conducting an impact evaluation of this Elections and Democracy Activity component throughout the 2023-24 school year to learn from the overall effect of the textbooks, engagement with PTAs, and teacher training. Impact evaluators are currently sampling 100 schools for selection for next year’s program pilot. The lessons of this first year to protect the books and support teachers and their training to deliver the materials effectively will be invaluable to the impact evaluation process. One of only a few evaluations of civics in schools in Africa as well as one of the only ones conducted on civics teaching at the primary level, this project and its findings will contribute to the global body of best practices.

In 2022, the Elections and Democracy Activity put textbooks into the hands of children in fifteen schools in rural and urban Gbarpolu, Montserrado, and Nimba counties. In the next two years, the project will add Grand Bassa County, Lofa, Margibi, and Bong. At its close, when the project is handed over to Liberia's Ministry of Education for scale-up to all public primary schools in 2025, one in every ten children in grades one through six will have a USAID-funded civic education textbook in their hands.

#civics #civic education #Liberia #democracy #civic participation #international development #USAID

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