Building democracy with UN assistance: from Namibia to Iraq; Has the United Nations found the right formula for promoting democracy?

• Author: Newman, Edward

The ideal of democratic governance underpins much of the contemporary work of the United Nations. The founding of the Organization was, in addition to being an alliance against aggression, premised upon the belief that stable, peaceful conditions within States underpin peaceful and stable relations between them. Almost half of UN members have requested its assistance in conducting elections. But an election does not necessarily resolve deep-seated problems, particularly when some of the situations in which the United Nations finds itself facilitating or promoting democracy, such as in Timor-Leste, Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan, are societies deeply traumatized by conflict.

Democracy promotion and assistance are challenging tasks, and a range of difficult questions are raised: Can the United Nations help to build the foundations of democracy and have a substantive positive impact upon the development of democratic governance inside societies? In other words, can external actors bring democracy where there had been none? Has the promotion of democracy in post-conflict and divided societies had a significant role in conflict settlement and reconciliation? Are top-down government assistance programmes the most effective, or those that work with civil society and non-governmental groups? Are "international standards" of democracy and democratization sensitive to indigenous traditions and authority structures?

The range of democracy assistance activities is wide, covering: organizing, conducting and validating elections; developing civil society and political parties; bolstering the rule of law, judicial institutions and security architecture; strengthening accountability, oversight and transparency; enhancing legislative training and effectiveness, and civic education; and protecting human rights. Bottom-up assistance focuses on strengthening civil society, public awareness and the capacity for societal deliberation. It is often implemented through local and international non-governmental actors. In contrast, top-down assistance is implemented through Governments, concentrating more on formal institutions and processes.

The United Nations is involved in all such approaches. The normative basis is also wide-ranging, including the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other major human rights instruments. Until recently, these legal instruments did not imply an international democratic entitlement or a mandate for democracy...