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International IDEA’s Annual Review of Constitution-Building provides a retrospective account of constitutional transitions, the issues that drive them and their implications for national and international politics.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) convened a group of 23 practitioners, experts and academics to attend a workshop dedicated to best practice in training capacity and delivery in election administration.

In recent decades, women’s participation in constitution making bodies has become more systematic and widespread compared to earlier generations.

The year 2020 is a milestone for many reasons. This year marks 25 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action set out how to remove the systemic barriers that hold women back from equal participation in all areas of life. It also marks 20 years since the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security was adopted. Both the Beijing Platform for Action and UNSCR 1325 are important blueprints for the work of International IDEA.

El año 2020 es un hito por muchas razones. Este año se cumplen 25 años desde que la Declaración y Plataforma de Acción de Beijing establecieron cómo eliminar las barreras sistémicas que impiden que las mujeres participen equitativamente en todas las áreas de la vida. También se cumplen 20 años desde que se adoptó la resolución 1325 del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU sobre mujeres, paz y seguridad.

• Since 1995, the world has made important strides in advancing gender equality. The increase in female representation in parliaments across the globe has been driving these advances, although there has been some progress on other indicators used to measure Gender Equality in the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices.

The Council Conclusions on Democracy, adopted by the European Union's Foreign Affairs Ministers on 14 October 2019,  send an important political message about the EU's and EU Member States’ ambition on democracy in their external relations. The EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, due to be released in the coming weeks, constitutes a roadmap for the EU’s external policy for the period of 2020-2024.

Political campaigns online have demonstrated that they can help candidates win elections, include more citizens’ concerns in political debates or allow upcoming parties to gain political exposure.

International IDEA’s political finance data informed the debate at the Expert Review Meeting on Commonwealth legislative approaches to political finance regulation, organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in London on 10-11 February.

International law is an increasingly relevant consideration in constitution-building.

It is therefore helpful for a constitution to prescribe the effect of international law in domestic law. If all or some international law has automatic effect, it is helpful for the constitution to describe its position in the hierarchy of domestic law.

ADDIS ABABA - The Global State of Democracy 2019: Addressing the Ills, Reviving the Promise  - the second edition of the flagship report of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) - will be launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 18 February 2020.

Electoral successes of populist politicians and parties in the past decade have posed challenges to both established and younger democracies.

How have these new political actors affected the quality of democracy? Do they dismantle the system of checks and balances underpinning democratic accountability, or do they revive democratic representation by bringing back citizens who have felt marginalized by mainstream parties and traditional democratic institutions?

International IDEA welcomed the Swedish Diplomatic Training Programme for a deep dive into the world of democracy and elections.

What global democracy trends do I need to keep on my radar screen? What early signs should I look for in spotting democratic backsliding? What detailed and comparative democracy data sources are available to back up these trends and observations?

Roundtable report: Artificial Intelligence: Mapping priority areas for EU assistance to democratic development

The 12th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), organized by the Indonesian Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Nusa Dua, Bali on 5-6 December 2019, brought together hundreds of delegates representing government, civil society, media, students and business sector to discuss democracy and inclusivity in Asia and the Pacific region and beyond. The Forum focused on the intertwined concepts of  political and economic inclusivity in view of democracy to thrive.

Túnez se unió a IDEA Internacional como el 33.° estado miembro de la organización. El Consejo de Estados Miembros se reunió en Estocolmo el 2 de diciembre de 2019 para tomar dicha decisión. De esta forma, Túnez es el primer estado miembro de la región del norte de África en unirse al Instituto.

Tunisia joined International IDEA as the 33rd Member State of the organization when the Council of Member States met in Stockholm on 2 December 2019. Tunisia is the first member state from the North African and Arab region to join the Institute. 

International IDEA organized the first of a series of Expert Talks in Stockholm on 14 November 2019, exploring a number of interlinked issues between political finance and corruption. The event provided an opportunity to inspire and influence the global debate on money in politics while engaging with the diplomatic and policy community in Sweden.

Democracy is under threat and its promise needs revival.