International Idea
Builders in Pretoria

Its programmes aim to provide knowledge to democracy builders, provide policy development and analysis and support democratic reform.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. We develop, share and enable the use of comparative knowledge in our key areas of expertise: electoral processes, constitution-building, political participation and representation, and democracy and development. We also address the important issues of gender, diversity, and conflict and security as they relate to democracy. Our efforts to support democratic change build on our convening potential. We facilitate dialogue at the country, expert and international levels. We work in the spirit of peer dialogue, in which everyone has experiences and knowledge to share. In doing so, the Secretary-General reports on the overall implementation of activities and represents the organization externally and develop strong relations with Member States and other constituencies. Our creative and expert staff of more than 150 people, work in coordination with partners at the local regional, state and global level to enhance capacity and support democratic institutions. We are a learning organization and every year we review our progress, lessons learned and recognize key accomplishments. We value working with all groups that are dedicated to improving democratic governance. Our partnerships with national groups include electoral management bodies and political parties as well as regional and sub-regional organizations. Our funding and other types of contributions come from our Member States and other financial partners. Our mission is to support sustainable democratic change through providing comparative knowledge, assisting in democratic reform, and influencing policies and politics. We believe that democracy is a universal human aspiration and an experience that is pursued and lived in different ways around the world. There is no single and universally applicable model of democracy. Fundamentally, democracy is a system in which the government is controlled by the people and citizens are considered equals in the exercise of that control. Beyond the basic tenets of citizens’ choice and citizens’ political equality, the critical choices are best made and the quality of democracy is best gauged by those directly concerned: the citizens themselves. We systematically nurture an open and pluralistic understanding of democracy. We seek to provide decision makers with accurate information on existing options and their likely implications. We make comparative experiences available to actors across the political and institutional spectrum. This facilitates inclusive processes in which political will for change can emerge. At the expert level, we convene dialogues in order to improve the design and implementation of politics in support of democracy. At the international level, we engage in multilateral forums and initiatives to build global understanding and synergies on key democracy issues. This enhances the focus on democracy building within the broader international agenda, particularly peace building and state building.