democracyarsenal.org: Democracy Is As Democracy... Funds?

June 05, 2007

Democracy Is As Democracy... Funds?
Posted by Heather Hurlburt

As President Bush discourses on democracy in golden Prague today, it's a good time to contemplate the Freedom House analysis of the President's 2008 budget request for democracy support around the world. Since the President today emphasized his concerns about Russia:

In Russia, reforms that once promised to empower citizens have been derailed, with troubling implications for democratic development."

you might expect that assistance to civil society groups in particular, and advocates of Russian democracy in general, would be up. But you'd be wrong. Human rights-in-Russia funding was cut by more than one-third from last year's levels; civil society support by about 50 percent.

Russia's not a lone oddity: civil society support was more than halved for Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe. Every country in the Near East saw increased funding under the rubric of "Governing Justly and Democratically" (obviously much and in some cases all of this funding goes to non-governmental groups) -- except two. One was Egypt, where civil society is coming under increased pressure... and the Administration cut $8 million in civil society support. Funding for Burmese human rights and civil society activists was cut to one-twelfth of its previous level. Support for Venezuela was cut -- in the face of Hugo Chavez' quite successful challenge to the democratic model??

I read the full analysis trying to see a pattern and make some sense out of it. The only pattern I can see is giving up on situations that are longstanding and difficult -- Burma, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, Egypt -- in favor of place that are newer priorities and more essential to how the Bush Administration presents itself (Iraq, Afghanistan, a generalized focus on sub-Saharan Africa.) In response, I'll let Freedom House speak for itself:

While it is tempting to attach large amounts of funding to particular countries where there is strong public or government interest at a given time, past experience has shown that sharp increases in assistance to countries may not always lead to effectively administered programs, as organizations and individuals are unable to absorb such funding in a short time period. A more effective, albeit less dramatic approach, is to provide sustained funding at adequate levels over longer periods of time.

(Kudos to Shadi's POMED for pointing out this document in their weekly update.)

June 05, 2007 at 11:31 AM | Permalink

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June 05, 2007

Democracy Is As Democracy... Funds?
Posted by Heather Hurlburt

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June 05, 2007

Democracy Is As Democracy... Funds? Posted by Heather Hurlburt

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Democracy Is As Democracy... Funds?
Posted by Heather Hurlburt