« Previous |
41 - 50 of 50
|
Next »
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
42. Democratisation from the Outside in: NGO and International Efforts to Promote Open Elections
- Author:
- Vikram K. Chand
- Publication Date:
- 02-1997
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- Until recently, the monitoring of elections in a sovereign country by outside actors was extremely rare. The United Nations (UN) had significant experience in conducting plebiscites and elections in dependent territories but did not monitor an election in a formally independent country until 1989, when it reluctantly became involved in the Nicaraguan electoral process. At the regional level, the Organization of American States (OAS) occasionally sent small delegations to witness elections in member states, but these missions were too brief to permit any real observation of the processes, and failed to criticise fraud. Since the 1980s election-monitoring has become increasingly common in transitional elections from authoritarian to democratic rule. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), domestic and international, were the first to become involved in election-monitoring in the 1980s followed by international and regional organisations like the UN, the OAS, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in the 1990s. Election-monitors played a crucial role in transitional elections held in the Philippines (1986), Chile (1989), Panama (1989), Nicaragua (1990) and Haiti (1990). In addition, elections began to form a crucial element of UN 'peace-building' strategies in countries torn apart by civil strife such as Namibia (1989), Cambodia (1993) and El Salvador (1994). By the middle of the 1990s, international election-monitoring had thus become widely accepted, and fairly universal standards established for defining the term 'free and fair' elections.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Democratization, Non-Governmental Organization, Sovereignty, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Philippines, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Chile, and Namibia
43. The Journey to Democracy: 1986-1996
- Author:
- Robert A. Pastor
- Publication Date:
- 01-1996
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- In my travels throughout Latin America, I have always found the region's leaders eager to converse with American statesmen, but with few exceptions, they mostly had to content themselves with speaking to specialists like me. The kind of transnational dialogue that would permit hemispheric relations to rise to a higher level just did not exist. When President Carter asked if I would direct a new program at The Carter Center, my thoughts turned to the question of whether I could help form a group of senior statesmen from thoughts the hemisphere, who not only could consult with each other, but also work together to advance the ideals of human rights, democracy, social justice, and equitable development that lie at the core of the inter-American promise.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- United States, South America, Latin America, Central America, and Caribbean
44. Report of the Commission on Radio and Television Policy: Volume 6, Number 2
- Publication Date:
- 09-1994
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- In September 1994, the Commission on Radio and Television Policy, bringing together the New Independent States, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the United States, met in St. Petersburg, Russia, to discuss the most important policy issue of the electronic media: how to strengthen the independence of radio and television. The members of the Commission represented several different approaches and types of government, but, in the end, there was unanimous agreement on a communiqué urging all parties to defend and extend autonomy of the media.
- Topic:
- Democratization and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Asia
45. Elections in Mexico: Third Report
- Publication Date:
- 08-1994
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- The national elections on August 21, 1994 will be an important milestone in Mexico's political opening. During the last four years, the Mexican Congress approved a number of important reforms to the electoral process. Yet the Mexican population remains highly skeptical about the integrity of the elections. Opinion polls show that nearly one-half of respondents expect fraud, and more than one half expect post-electoral violence.
- Topic:
- Democratization and Government
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, North America, and Mexico
46. The Democratic Challenge in Africa
- Author:
- Richard Joseph
- Publication Date:
- 05-1994
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- On May 13-14, 1994, a group of 32 scholars and practitioners took part in a seminar on Democratization in Africa at The Carter Center. This consultation was a sequel to two similar meetings held in February 1989 and March 1990. Discussion papers from those seminars have been published under the titles, Beyond Autocracy in Africa and African Governance in the 1990s. During the period 1990-94, the African Governance Program of The Carter Center moved from discussions and reflections to active involvement in the complex processes of renewed democratization in several African countries. These developments throughout Africa were also monitored and assessed in the publication, Africa Demos.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Government, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Africa and North America
47. The International Observation of the U.S. Elections
- Publication Date:
- 11-1992
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- Robert Pastor, Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Program at The Carter Center and Executive Secretary of the Council, opened the conference with a reference to Mexican Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz who once said, "A nation without free elections is a nation without a voice, without eyes, and without ears." Pastor noted that the right to free and fair elections is a universal right enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the Organization of American States. In the spirit of honoring that right, the Council was formed in 1986 to lend support and assistance to the democratization movement in the Americas.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Nations, and Latin America
48. Investigating Abuses and Introducing Safeguards in the Democratization Process
- Author:
- The Conference Center
- Publication Date:
- 07-1992
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- In the two years that have elapsed since The Carter Center hosted "Investigating Abuses and Introducing Human Rights Safeguards in the Democratization Process," the issues we discussed then have become even more pivotal as our views of governance and the rights of individuals and of state sovereignty itself are being fundamentally transformed. It was our view that, although the Center did not previously publish the seminar proceedings, making them available at this time would serve to further inform those who are working in this field by providing insightful observations by many human rights activists, journalists, and academicians who were involved directly in political transitions in their own countries and by others who studied these events from the outside.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Government, Human Rights, and International Cooperation
49. Observing Nicaragua's Elections, 1989-1990
- Publication Date:
- 05-1990
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- During the entire electoral process, the political system in Nicaragua gradually opened so that by election day, the major political parties acknowledged that they had an adequate opportunity to explain their positions to the Nicaraguan people. The Council of Freely-Elected Heads of Government shared the conclusion of the parties: the Nicaraguan people were free to vote their preferences in a fair election, and the official results reflected the collective will of the nation.
- Topic:
- Security, Democratization, Government, Peace Studies, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Central America
50. Perestroika without Glasnost in Africa
- Publication Date:
- 02-1989
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- The aim of the inaugural seminar of the Governance in Africa Program (G.A.P.) was to bring together a diverse group of scholars to reflect on some of the central issues which confront the continent. The program takes its acronym from the increasing gap between the democratic and developmental aspirations expressed during the anti-colonial struggle and the monopolization of power and the deepening economic predicament today.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Government, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Africa