Democracy, Conflict, and Governance

About the Carnegie
Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program

The Carnegie Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program is a leading source of independent policy research, writing, and outreach on global democracy, conflict and governance issues, and the interrelations among them. It concentrates extensively on international efforts to advance democracy, reduce violence, stabilize conflict, and strengthen governance.

Current major areas of focus include:

• The challenges of developing effective policy responses at both the domestic and international levels to the global trend of closing space for civil society.
• The changing nature of civic activism globally and how international supporters of civil society can adapt to new forms and methods of civil society.
• U.S. and European policies relating to support for democracy and human rights abroad.
• Bringing a comparative lens to the challenges currently besetting U.S. and European democracy.
• Methods of reducing violence in democracies beset with serious violence.
• The relationship between international efforts to stabilize conflict in fragile and conflict-affected states and international efforts to support democracy in those states.
• Increasing gender representation in political parties in countries attempting democratic transitions.
• The growing problem of severe sociopolitical polarization in democracies.

The program is directed by Thomas Carothers. Saskia Brechenmacher, Frances Brown, Rachel Kleinfeld, and Richard Youngs are residential researchers with the program. Affiliated nonresidential part-time researchers include Steven Feldstein, Matthew Page, and Jodi Vittori. Tiffany Joslin and Maria Koomen assist with program coordination and management.

The Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program is grateful for the generous support it receives from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the Ford Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and the UK Department for International Development.