The U.S. Agency for International Development recently announced a new policy on how best to promote a global renewal of democratic governance in light of nearly two decades of democratic backsliding.
Shannon Green, the Assistant to the Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Governance explained the new policy:
“It provides us with a blueprint for taking on new and evolving threats to [democracy, rights and governance], while doubling down on the proven investments and the institutions and actors who are so essential for democracy to rebound.”
The decline of democracy is not inevitable, declared USAID Administrator Samantha Power in the recent policy announcement:
“We see it in just the basic impulse people have to shape their own destinies. ... But that universal longing, to decide for oneself to be able to react against malfeasance or repression, to walk with dignity. And for your kids, above all, to be able to be able to do that. These are really powerful forces that should be underestimated, I think, at the peril of those repressive forces who again and again seek to do so.”
The new Democracy, Rights and Governance, or DRG policy, will modernize ongoing USAID support for frontline democracy defenders all over the world, said Administrator Power. It will also codify efforts to counter the rise of digital repression at its source.
“We are working with lawyers, judges, legislatures and other oversight organizations to develop national strategies and standards around the use of technologies. We are supporting initiatives that seek to increase transparency about the way elected leaders are using technology and the way they are using individual data,” she said.
A big part of the DRG policy will be to create initiatives that develop a political culture that respects democratic norms, said Administrator Power:
“[I]t is only with a culture of integrity, honesty and accountability that our work strengthening institutions is going to have its desired lasting effect. It's only if judges are impartial that justice systems can enforce the rule of law. It is only if incumbents allow genuine competition, and of course, accept the will of the people that elections ultimately will be free and fair.”
USAID is committed to partnering with organizations working to promote informed, factual and peaceful discourse, with the ultimate goal of once again expanding democratic governance.
