Assessing Democracy Assistance PDF Download

The sub-theme of democracy building comprises support to UNDP ELECT; funding for the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) to undertake electoral monitoring and observation activities; financial assistance to the Afghan Women's Network (AWN) to encourage women's participation in elections and to support women legislators elected to the new parliament; and core funding for the Af. [...] Agencies such as the FEFA, the Afghan Civil Society Forum (ACSF), the AIHRC, the Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN), Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) and the AWN are some of the main recipients of this type of donor funding and technical support. [...] Factors weakening the impact of democracy aid A number of factors weakening the impact of democracy assistance have already been discussed above: the lack of a coordinated vision for democratic development, missed opportunities early on in the intervention, the coinciding of democracy assistance with international military action and the lack of clarity over definitions of democracy. [...] This is all-pervasive and has specific effects on democracy assistance: from the prevention of freedom of speech due to fear of violent repercussions, to the unequal playing field created by key players carrying arms; from the rejection of the word 'democracy' due to its dangerous associations with the West, to a narrative of insecurity preventing women's participation in the public sphere. [...] In an interview for this study, reflecting the views of a number of respondents, Dr Abdullah Abdullah - the main opposition candidate for the presidential race in 2009 - described a lack of political will at the top as the key obstacle to democratic development: 'The main obstacle is that there is no commitment [to democracy] from the leadership, from those calling the shots.