Democracy Reporting International

Briefing Paper 19, November 2011
Promoting Consensus:
Constitution-Making in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya

The paper argues that the three most progressed transitions – in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya – suffer from a lack of attention to different forms of majority decision-making. It appears that most policymakers in the region equate democracy with simple majority rule, while in constitution-making supermajorities are regularly employed.

English (PDF, 486 kB)

Report, October 2011
International Consensus: Essential Elements of Democracy

Democracy is not an anything goes form of government. Various internationally agreed documents include an outline of the core components of what democracy means. A range of them are ‘hard’ legally binding international law. Others may be considered soft law. While these documents do not give an exhaustive definition of democracy, they include basic key elements, each of which is a necessary condition for a democratic form of governance.

English (PDF, 145 kB)
Français (PDF, 424 kB)
Arabic (PDF, 635 kB)

Briefing Paper 15, July 2011
No Voice: The Exclusion of Women from Voting

Briefing Paper 15 discusses the exclusion of women from the voting process. It includes recommendations for more effective enforcement of the existing legal framework and for strengthening the legal framework to facilitate the participation of female voters. It encourages relevant institutions and stakeholders, including the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and political parties, to proactively and consistently facilitate women’s inclusion in voting.

Briefing Paper 15: No voice: The Exclusion of Women from Voting (PDF, 267 kB)

Briefing Paper 11, April 2011
Electronic Voting Machines: The Promise and Perils of a New Technology

The introduction of electronic voting machines (EVMs) to conduct elections is a major step for any country. EVMs are often perceived as a modern tool of governance; however, decisions on EVMs should be taken with extreme care. While they offer much promise, there are also many perils to be overcome.

Briefing Paper 11/ April 2011 (PDF, 245 kB)

Discussion Paper No. 2, November 2010
Forget ‘International Standards’: Why Election Observers Should Talk About ‘International Obligations and Commitments’ When Evaluating An Election.

English (PDF, 403 kB)

Discussion Paper No.1, June 2009
A Missing Link: Why Europe should talk about Religion when Promoting Democracy Abroad

English (PDF, 81 kB)

Report for European Policy Studies, March 2006
Exporting Legitimacy: The Record of EU Election Observation in the context of EU Democracy Support

Over the last five years, the EU has sent more than 35 Election Observation Missions (EOMs) around the world. EOMs are often the most visible part of the EU’s efforts to promote democracy abroad and carry consequences for the EU’s overall policy towards a given country.

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