The Office of the Permanent Observer for International IDEA to the UN works with member states, multilaterals and civil society to advocate for greater visibility on issues linked to democracy. In 2023, International IDEA co-organized 14 events, including on the human rights situation in Myanmar, the breakdown of Sudan’s democratic transition and obstacles to women’s political participation.
The Global Democracy Coalition (GDC), convened by InternationalIDEA in 2021 ahead of the first Summit for Democracy, has developed into a network of more than 120 civil society, philanthropic, academic and multilateral organizations aimed at fostering collaboration on democracy building. In 2023, the GDC played a pivotal role in the second Summit for Democracy, facilitating dialogues for civil society, participating in the main plenary and providing a platform for non-governmental stakeholders to have their voices heard.
Women constitution-makers utilize International IDEA’s knowledge and networks to give high-quality advice and advance inclusive practices in constitution-building processes. Of the 75 countries that underwent constitutional reform or a negotiated transition from authoritarianism to democracy between 1990 and 2015, only 19 per cent of the members of the constitution-making bodies involved were women.
International IDEA spearheaded the institutionalization of gender equality as a pillar of democracy by providing substantive technical support for the Summit for Democracy Cohort on Gender Equality. Romania, Sweden and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security co-led the Cohort, while International IDEA supported the Cohort’s agenda-setting efforts by convening dialogues and stakeholder consultations to make recommendations for the Summit and beyond.
The Democracy Tracker platform, launched under the Global State of Democracy Initiative in November 2022, monitors and assesses the most important developments relating to democracy and human rights in 173 countries on a monthly basis. The platform contributes to a favourable global information ecosystem for policymakers, CSOs, media, activists and strategic partners to protect and promote democracy. The tool links individual events to high-level data visualization and provides expert analysis on how individual events impact democracy.
In August 2023, International IDEA launched the Report Political Finance Assessment of Thailand at an event in Bangkok attended by representatives of the Election Commission of Thailand, political party leaders and International IDEA Member States, as well as researchers, academics and civil society actors.
Global natural hazards—such as the storms, floods, earthquakes and wildfires that are wreaking havoc on electoral calendars and budgets—pose new challenges for electoral management bodies (EMBs). Additional risks are emerging from the threat of digital disinformation and manipulation, which can undermine trust in election results.
The Global State of Democracy Initiative provides timely, cutting-edge data and analysis to help stakeholders create informed and targeted interventions, to understand democratic deterioration, and to capitalize on and learn from successes. For the release of the fifth edition of its flagship Global State of Democracy Report in November 2023, International IDEA convened experts and policymakers in discussions on safeguarding democratic political institutions.
At this crucial juncture for democracy around the world, it has become more important than ever that International IDEA’s Member States support the Institute financially, in accordance with its Statutes and their respective means. In 2023 a growing number of Member States demonstrated their commitment through new financial and in-kind contributions:
France became International IDEA’s 35th Member State on 1 December 2023. France’s accession came with a strong message of support for International IDEA’s work and a particular interest in supporting political participation and parliamentary cooperation.
