International IDEA

Overview

What is International IDEA?

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. Its objective is to strengthen democratic institutions and processes.

International IDEA acts as a catalyst for democracy building by providing knowledge resources, expertise and a platform for debate on democracy issues. It works together with policy makers, donor governments, UN organizations and agencies, regional organizations and others engaged in democracy building.

What does International IDEA do?

International IDEA’s areas of expertise include: constitution-building processes, electoral processes, political parties, democracy and gender, and democracy assessments. The Institute offers:

Knowledge resources, in the form of expert networks, databases, handbooks and websites;
Policy proposals to provoke debate and action on democracy;
Assistance with democratic reform in response to specific national requests.
Where does International IDEA work?

International IDEA works worldwide. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, it has offices in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Areas of Expertise

International IDEA supports democracy worldwide and is dedicated to strengthen democratic institutions and processes. It works with governments, UN agencies, regional organizations and others engaged in democracy building at the international, regional, national and local levels.

Electoral Processes

The design and conduct of elections and referendums are vital to democratic development and are not mere technical events. International IDEA will keep leading the policy shift from event-driven to process-driven electoral support.

Political Parties

Political parties are the essential mechanisms through which the preferences and desires of citizens can be articulated and presented in legislatures and government. However, regard for political parties is almost universally low. International IDEA works to strengthen political parties as actors of democratization.

Constitution Building

Constitutions form the core agreement between the state and the citizen. Designing a constitution can lay the foundations for peace and development or can exacerbate existing conflict or plant seeds of conflict. International IDEA looks at why a constitution is much more than just a piece of paper.

Democracy and Gender

While women throughout the world face obstacles to their participation in politics, gender often remains an “add-on” to the democracy-building agenda. International IDEA identifies methods that governments can use to advance equality between women and men in politics.

Citizen Assessment of Democracy

There is no such thing as a “perfect” democracy. Democracies face evolving challenges and citizens increasingly demand that democracy delivers on economic and social rights, too. For citizens to assess what is good and what is wrong in the functioning of their own country, International IDEA has developed the “State of Democracy” and “State of Local Democracy” methodologies.

Democracy and Conflict

International IDEA seeks to strengthen the ‘conflict management’ capa­city of democratic institutions and processes and to reduce the potential for violent confrontation by including peace building and conflict prevention as objectives of all of its programme activities.

Contacts:

Headquarters

Tel: +46 8 698 3700
Fax: +46 8 20 24 22

Address:
International IDEA, Strömsborg
SE-103 34 Stockholm, Sweden
http://www.idea.int/