SHAREMar
26
2007
26
2007
Speech
This event marks the successful conclusion of a ground-breaking project. Three international organisations, UNDP, OAS, International IDEA, and one national development assistance agency, Canadian CIDA, have joined forces to produce an innovative and much...
Mar
05
2007
05
2007
Speech
"It is with great pleasure that International IDEA has joined as a co organizer of this conference. South Africa being one of our Member States, and the African Union one of our close partners, IDEA considers it a true privilege to be part of this undertaking...
Dec
15
2006
15
2006
Speech
Earlier this year I met outgoing Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo. His tenure as president had been one of impressive economic growth, but nevertheless he was a troubled man. He was experiencing in a cruel way the complex issue of democratic politics and...
Oct
30
2006
30
2006
Speech
Democracy is widely accepted and widely supported. Nevertheless the process of building inclusive democracy is not a linear process of continuous improvement. Democratic transition is a difficult process, which can suffer setbacks and even trigger conflict....
Jul
11
2006
11
2006
Speech
Today, more people than ever before are governed by elected representatives.
Democracy – the idea that people have the right to control their government and that a government is legitimate only if and when it is controlled by the people – has acquired an...
Jun
07
2006
07
2006
Speech
Today, more people than ever before are governed by elected representatives. Democracy — the idea that people have the right to control their government and that a government is legitimate only if and when it is controlled by the people — has acquired an...
Jun
01
2006
01
2006
Speech
Since the end of the cold war democracy has been a buzzword, slowly being filled with substance.
During the past 10 years democracy has advanced, but it is also increasingly challenged. Challenged because it does not live up to high expectations of rising...
May
19
2006
19
2006
Speech
It is almost one hundred and fifty years since Abraham Lincoln said that ‘Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.’ The clarity of his words has rarely been matched since, but their content has acquired today an almost unique...
May
15
2006
15
2006
Speech
Much of the conventional wisdom relating to post-conflict elections fails to take three critical factors into account. First, elections are often debated and planned in a way that is linked only tenuously to other parts of the emerging institutional framework...
Apr
24
2006
24
2006
Speech
The choice of electoral system is one of the most important institutional decisions for any democracy. In almost all cases the choice of a particular electoral system has a profound effect on the future political life of the country concerned. Electoral...
Apr
20
2006
20
2006
Speech
"When my daughters were young, they, like so many, spent hours in front of video game machines. One of their favourites was called The Mole Hunter."
Nov
09
2005
09
2005
Speech
"I have been asked today to speak on the role of the international community in national reconciliation processes."
Sep
20
2005
20
2005
Speech
Tackling the practical tasks of day to day governance, economic development, fighting corruption and building the rule of law is much less glamorous than building a new institutional framework after years of authoritarian government, but it remains the test...
May
26
2005
26
2005
Speech
International IDEA’s interest in direct democracy concerns whether, when and how the use of direct democracy mechanisms is appropriate to enhance democratic systems.
May
26
2005
26
2005
Speech
International IDEA’s interest in direct democracy concerns whether, when and how the use of direct democracy mechanisms is appropriate to enhance democratic systems.