Australia Foreign Policy White Paper:
Input from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
27 February 2017
Background
The Government of Australia has announced a call for public submissions of key ideas to prepare a
new Foreign Policy White Paper in 2017. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral
Assistance (International IDEA) is pleased to present its input to the new White Paper, in line with
International IDEA’s mandate to support sustainable democracy worldwide.
We also take this opportunity to present as an annex further information on how International IDEA
could help Australia formulate policies and deliver international assistance in key policy areas related
to democratic governance, pluralism, diversity and human rights.
Key Issues and Questions
Key Issue 01: Australia’s foreign policy needs to be grounded in a clear-eyed assessment of our
national interests.
 How should we define Australia’s national interests in a changing world? How should our values
underpin Australia’s foreign policy? What should we do differently? How can we do better?
Australia stands on a liberal democracy with a firm commitment to the principle values of tolerance,
perseverance and mateship. Australia has been promoting democratic governance as a basic condition
for security and prosperity in all countries not least because of Australia’s own historical experience.
Today’s global democracy landscape continues to be influenced by many layers of conflict, of global
power-shifts, of citizenship and state sovereignty, and by transnational dynamics such as large scale
refugee and asylum seeker movements. These developments appear to have contributed to a widely
expressed view, particularly evident in mainstream media that democracy is in decline.
Australia’s support to effective governance resonates with International IDEA’s strive to support
democratic decision-making, implementation and oversight in development processes that enable
sustainable peace, inclusive growth and human development. Although countries develop along
diverse paths, whenever poverty is endemic, public services are not delivered or the population lacks
access to jobs, education and health, elected politicians and political institutions are called into
question. Weakened legitimacy paves the way for setbacks to democracy and increases the possibility
of extremism and conflict. Advancing democracy entails improving its capacity for service delivery to
its citizens. Yet, such capacity ought to be inclusive and able to create the specific arrangements with
a potential to generate shared development. Advancing inclusive capacity of the government and
public service would be critical in a country like Myanmar for its democratic transition to be sustainable.
It is arguable that the strong border policy might not serve Australia’s national interest as it positions
Australia as a closed-off country to engagement with neighbouring countries in the Indo-Pacific region,
rather than perceptive to innovations in the region that Australia could also benefit from. Migration
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presents a longstanding challenge that has escalated into a global crisis and is a main driver of public
debate. In Australia and Europe, the arrival of significant numbers of refugees has catalyzed anxiety
over globalization, driving the rise of new parties and the adoption by governments of exclusionary
policies. Due to its transnational nature, migration poses fundamental questions to democracy. Public
debate about migration, and by association about multiculturalism, showcases the polarization of
societies and the dilemmas that policymakers face in the search for adequate responses. Democratic
institutions must learn from local initiatives, which have successfully included migrants in political life
and link these lessons to the international and regional governance frameworks. This can open up
space for new approaches to political advocacy, and in the long run enable democratic institutions and
processes to respond to migration challenges in a sustainable and resilient manner. It is evident that
more research about links of migration management and democracy are needed.
Key Issue 02: Australia has diverse interests that span the globe.
 Which countries will matter most to Australia over the next 10 years? Why and in what ways? How
should we deepen and diversify key relationships?
Australia has redefined its aid landscape, focusing more on the Indo-Pacific region, where aid will be
directed to developing countries, including fragile states in the Pacific. Undoubtedly, economic growth
and private sector investments will be the drivers for change in this region. These will only be
sustainable in a context of strong democracy and inclusive political institutions, otherwise aid efforts
are unlikely to succeed in their well-intended aspirations. Stable and conflict-free environments are
necessary for economic growth, business investments and the success of development plans.
Australia is politically and militarily allied with the USA, but economically is linked with China as the
largest trading partner. China’s peaceful and incremental development toward greater freedoms and
rule of law, transparency and inclusive growth are most certainly of interest to Australia.
The South China Sea remains as a potential conflict area in the region. The ongoing intervention
towards territorial disputes over islands and buildings may serve to encourage greater contact and
cooperation between China’s southern neighbours. Several of these neighbours – Indonesia, Japan,
the Philippines and South Korea - demonstrate the growing consolidation of democracy in Asia and
form an important reference group to Australia.
Development has been slow in the Pacific region due to factors such as military coups (Fiji), political
instability that results in frequent government changes due to weak and undisciplined political parties
(Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu), weak accountability mechanisms
due to underdeveloped civil society organizations, poor scrutiny by the media, elitism, gender
inequality and women’s under representation, and troublesome elections. These Pacific countries are
also saturated by international aid and external players. Furthermore, in the Pacific, customary
governance is at times clashing with ideals of modern democracy, coupled with aid dependency. It
would be important to support ways of bridging customary governance with governance mechanisms
formally enshrined in constitutions in order to enable democracy to become rooted in the region. A
number of constitution reform processes are underway in the Pacific. Thus, it may be a moment for
Australia to take a stock of what has been achieved and what did not work despite the historically large
investment.
Programmes aimed at strengthening democracy and democratic political institutions should continue
to be undertaken in the Indo-Pacific region, not least by Australia. A significant amount of democracy
support programmes, however, has focused on support to the conduct of elections and reforms to
electoral processes. Support to other equally important institutional and political reforms are
necessary for inclusive development. Sustainable peace has often been taken for granted or neglected,
which should be reflected in Australia’s focus areas over the next 10 years.
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 Which global trends, such as developments in technology, environmental degradation and the role
of non-state actors, are likely to affect Australia’s security and prosperity? How should Australia
respond?
Some recent positive trends emerging concerning both democracy at the multilateral and sub-national
levels include the development of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) as a global commitment
to tackle global challenges, those related to core principles of democracy ̶ Goal 16: promoting peaceful
and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building
effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels, Goal 5: achieving gender equality and
empowerment for all women and girls, and Goal 11: making cities safe, resilient and sustainable.
Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda relates to a field of international assistance where two large donors – the
EU and the USA – provide roughly the same amount of ODA as all other bilateral donors combined1. In
such a situation, the other bilateral players, like Australia, can best help implement Goal 16 if they plan
and deliver their international assistance in a coordinated fashion, seeking complementarity rather
than duplication, both among themselves and with the EU and the USA. Therefore, Australia can best
help implement Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda through an approach based on multilateral coordination
and dialogue. Working in partnership with multilateral organizations, such as International IDEA, can
offer an administratively efficient and cost effective way to coordinate priorities and pool resources
with other bilateral players.
Australia’s efforts to implement Goal 16 should also rest on a holistic approach to the 2030 Agenda,
keeping in mind the potential for Goal 16 to serve as an enabler for other goals. Despite strong
economic growth and democratic progress in the past two decades, many regions of the globe
(including the Indo-Pacific region) have seen the degree of inequality between their richest and
poorest citizens worsen. This polarizing divide can exacerbate political, religious or communal tensions
in the society, which can have destabilizing effects across the region with Australia being looked to as
a key mediator. Helping institutions of all kinds (including governments and parliaments) deliver public
services that meet the needs of all citizens, through enhanced transparency standards, accountability
mechanisms and mechanisms for citizen engagement, could go a long way towards reducing these
inequalities and leveraging Goal 16 as an enabler of other goals within the 2030 Agenda, which will
ultimately contribute to regional stability.
Finally, Australia’s efforts to implement SDGs should be structured around a broad, inclusive approach
to partnership development. Over the last decade, the international community has focused much on
civil society organizations (CSOs) as a partner of choice for international assistance efforts related to
Goal 16. Around the world, CSOs have grown in numbers, capacity and influence, and while they have
lately come under threat in several parts of the world, they have successfully consolidated themselves
as relevant actors in development dynamics. Looking to the future, CSOs should remain essential
partners for the international community and for Australia – but they should not overshadow the
importance of other actors in fostering progress in relation to Goal 16. On one end of the spectrum,
the recent trend of diverting support away from formal political and governance institutions towards
non-state actors (including CSOs) should be balanced. Formal institutions – such as government
agencies, parliaments, political parties and judicial institutions – are the ultimate locus of decisionmaking and in their hands rests the power to adopt and implement the reforms needed to achieve
Goal 16. On the other end of the spectrum, non-organized segments of civil society – that is, citizens
whose interests are not aggregated and promoted on a permanent basis through formal structures
such as CSOs – are also playing an increasing role and claiming their place in inclusive societies, not
1
This is based on the OECD-DAC international development statistics for 2014 in the Government and Civil
Society – General sector.
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least through the use of digital technologies. Efforts to implement Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda should
strive to bridge the divide between all these actors and bring them together in inclusive national
change processes.
Key Issue 03: Australia is an influential player in regional and international organizations.
 Which regional and global organizations matter most to us? How should we support and shape
them? How can we maximize our influence?
As a global leader in sharing comparative knowledge and experience in support of democracy,
International IDEA stands for the same common values and principles, including freedom, democracy,
the rule of law, and respect for human rights, which the Group of Twenty (G20) upholds to lead
international efforts to tackle current economic and political challenges.
Australia has been actively collaborating with regional organizations in areas of political, economic and
sociocultural cooperation, in particular with its neighbour organizations such as the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). As an ASEAN plus member,
Australia is well positioned to support further development of the ASEAN Political Security Community
Blueprint. Historically, ASEAN has not proactively promoted democracy-building initiatives in its
member states, including in those affected by conflict. While some regional organizations (e.g., AU and
EU) are playing an indispensable role in humanitarian issues in countries where there is an ongoing
conflict or a post-conflict scenario, ASEAN has not played any major role in such activities. For example,
ASEAN is currently confronted by challenges of South China Sea disputes and the internal conflict
caused by alleged abuses of Rohingya Muslims by the Myanmar military. Both issues have the potential
to divide and hence derail the ASEAN process of economic integration and peaceful handling of
conflicts between the member states. Australia can engage more in diplomacy to ensure regional
stability under the ASEAN Blueprint through further engagement of civil society with the ASEAN bodies
and can play a more proactive mediating role to develop mechanisms of managing internal conflicts
within ASEAN.
International IDEA works at the highest levels in countries such as Bhutan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal,
and the Philippines, and most importantly ASEAN and other regional organizations, directly providing
relevant technical assistance and advice on best practice in electoral management, constitution
building, political participation and representation, and democratic accountability in service delivery.
International IDEA identifies itself as being both an innovative ‘think tank’ and a ‘do tank’, producing
cutting-edge comparative knowledge about democratic processes and about how to tackle threats to
democracy.
Being a Member State of International IDEA, Australia has influence on International IDEA’s research
agenda as well as crucial democratic processes such as the constitution building process in Nepal,
women’s political representation in Bhutan, democratic accountability in the Philippines, local
democracy in Mongolia, the democratic transition in Myanmar, the nascent reforms in Vietnam,
constitution reforms in Pacific islands nations, and electoral reforms in Indonesia, which can be further
expanded through direct support to International IDEA’s programming in these countries.
International IDEA’s work is non-prescriptive and it takes an impartial and collaborative approach to
democracy cooperation, emphasizing diversity in democracy, equal political participation, linking
democracy and development, and helping to enhance the political will required for change.
International IDEA joined forces with like-minded Member States and strategic partners to advocate
the inclusion of democratic accountability in the formulation of Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda and as an
essential principle in follow-up mechanisms. Democratic accountability, not simply accountability,
should be a fundamental concept in a transformative 2030 Agenda that depicts itself as ‘peoplecentred’. The importance of social surveys was highlighted, included as part of a wider set of robust
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monitoring mechanisms to capture citizens’ opinions on the progress made towards meeting goals and
targets. International IDEA stands committed to engaging with Member States and partners on sharing
experiences of developing and implementing such mechanisms at the national, regional and global
levels.
Key Issue 04: Australia needs to be ambitious in grasping economic opportunities.
 What steps should be taken to maximize our trade and investment and expand commercial
opportunities for Australian business? How can we ensure Australia is positioned to take advantage
of opportunities in the global economy? What are the key risks to Australia’s future prosperity and
how should we respond?
Declining global oil prices and China’s slowing economy and demand for raw materials are also raising
anxieties about the capacity of political institutions, particularly those in natural resource-exporting
countries, to deal with these challenges. Iran’s return to the discussion table following the lifting of
sanctions and the election of a more moderate parliament is also producing considerable implications
for Sunni-Shia dynamics across the West Asia and North Africa region and the ways in which Iran’s
adversaries adjust to these dynamics.
In general, fluctuating oil prices largely affect democracies in resource countries such as Brazil, Ecuador,
Nigeria and Venezuela, and in particular, countries where politics are significantly influenced by
income streams from natural resources. On a positive note, reduced state income from natural
resources in general and lower oil prices in particular can lead to increased public scrutiny of
governments via calls for greater transparency and accountability as to how income from natural
resources is being used.
China’s slowdown in growth will also have negative economic effects on economies dependent on its
demand for commodities, including most countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Considering that
economic crises have historically triggered popular protests and demands for democratic reforms, and
taking into account the importance of economic growth to political stability, this economic stagnation ̶
combined with deteriorating social conditions and citizen’s mistrust in the political system – could
conceivably give rise to political unrest and further citizens’ initiatives demanding their rights.
Australia’s experience and lessons learned in the area of natural resources governance can be an
important asset for Australia’s efforts to support governance structures in other countries. In the
current context of low commodity and oil prices, several countries across the developing world are
feeling growing pressures for transparency and accountability in relation to the management of their
natural resources and the economic benefits that flow from their exploitation. This often affects
remote communities, including indigenous communities. Australia can build on its own experience of
transparency and accountability in natural resource management to help political institutions from
other countries create the necessary conditions for their natural resources to be managed to the
benefit and satisfaction of the broad citizenry.
Key Issue 05: Australia confronts a range of strategic, security and transnational challenges.
 How can Australia best deal with instability beyond our borders? How can our foreign policy,
including our overseas development assistance program, support a more prosperous, peaceful and
stable region? How should our international engagement work to protect Australia against
transnational security threats, such as terrorism?
Abuse of state resources, procurement misuse and other forms of public sector corruption have been
linked to weak participatory democracy and certain economic policies. Together with both incidental
and organized crime, political corruption has also undermined democratic developments in parts of
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Indo-Pacific region and other regions, while also threatening the health of democracies in Europe and
elsewhere.
While the number of countries introducing decentralized government has increased over recent
decades, the complexity of decentralization processes is now gaining more attention. This includes, for
example, a greater focus on organized crime at the local level. In transitional or fragile contexts,
decentralization may contribute to increases in corruption and organized crime. The weaknesses of
decentralization will potentially undermine some of the reforms’ objectives.
International IDEA sees corruption as one of the most important spoilers to sustainable democratic
societies. It negatively affects the very core of democratic processes and institutions by eroding the
trust citizens must have in their institutions. Corruption has also become a transnational issue such as
organized crime or terrorism, across borders and regions. In addition, the role of money in politics is
arguably one of the biggest threats to democracy today.
Over the past several decades, transnational organized crime has increasingly been identified as an
important international threat to democracy. Criminal networks form symbiotic alliances with
politicians, political parties and state officials in order to safeguard their interests. At the same time,
politicians have been keen to exploit the resources and power at the disposal of organized crime.
Organized crime comes in many forms in the Indo-Pacific region. Research suggests that, for
example, in the Pacific, most significant organized crime involves the nexus between political elites
and seemingly licit actors. The social and economic disruption caused by this nexus is often more
serious than many other types of organized crime; the logging sector being the most prominent
example.
This nexus between illicit networks and political institutions affects the state’s capacity to provide basic
public services, and undermines the legitimacy of the state and democratic politics itself. Furthermore,
the unprecedented openness in trade, finance, travel and communication has given organized crime
business opportunities making this a truly transnational phenomenon.
Australia has been committed to support anti-corruption initiatives because corruption lies at the
heart of many of the governance and broader development challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australia also has a strong model of oversight of political finance. This support should continue and be
explored within the region over the next 10 years.
Key Issue 06: Australia uses a range of assets and capabilities to pursue our international interests.
 What assets will we need to advance our foreign policy interests in future years? How can we best
use our people and our assets to advance Australia’s economic, security and other interests and
respond to external events?
As a stable and pluralist democracy with a long tradition of consensus-building and citizen
engagement in governance processes, Australia is well placed to provide international assistance in
several areas of governance.
For example, Australia can support other governments in the Indo-Pacific region to improve their
transparency and effectiveness in the governance system. In a democratic society, citizens must be
able to freely access government information and share it with other citizens. Such openness,
facilitated by technological infrastructure and ease of digital data access is essential for civic activism,
investigative journalism and public participation in the affairs of elected governments. Increasingly
over the last decade, international governance and financial bodies including the United Nations, the
World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have made
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calls for action to provide for increased transparency in decision-making processes at all levels of state
decision-making.
In addition, Australia has a valuable contribution to make in the area of constitution building, helping
and advising constitutional lawyers, jurists and lawmakers from countries in transition design
constitutions that can accommodate diversity and protect the rights of their citizens. The constitutionbuilding process provides an extraordinary opportunity for women and gender-equality
advocates/practitioners to influence the content on the constitutional guarantees and the framing of
democratic institutions. This is particularly relevant in post-conflict settings. Australia’s experience
with federalism, pluralism and human rights protection can bring valuable insight to other countries
and help them set up constitutional frameworks that will provide the basis for inclusion, respect for
diversity and human rights in their countries.
 How can Government work more effectively with non-government sectors, including business,
universities and NGOs, to advance Australia’s interests?
Citizen’s dissatisfaction with the political establishment and the decline in civic participation in political
parties has become a global trend. Bridging the divide between formal political and governance
institutions, on one hand, and CSOs and non-organized segments of civil society, on the other, could
go a long way towards promoting inclusion, diversity and human rights. Creating dialogue platforms
between these groups would help ensure that national decision-making is informed by multiple views,
and that citizens from diverse social groups have an opportunity to make their voices heard on issues
that affect their interests and their rights.
While the need for inclusive political participation and representation concerns many different social
groups, women and youth are particularly worthy of Australia’s attention. While 139 countries now
have constitutions that provide some guarantees on gender equality and women’s representation in
national parliaments has nearly doubled in the last two decades, women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions and decision-making structures at all levels. Representation of
women in Pacific Islands’ parliaments is the lowest in the world (excluding Australia and New Zealand),
amounting to only 3.65 percent. Evidence shows that women’s political participation does not increase
at the same pace as economic development, but women’s economic participation is a necessary albeit
not sufficient precondition for increasing women’s political participation.
Australia has been committing to gender equality for many years, and could help promote the inclusion
of women in governance structures and effective respect for women’s rights by supporting
empowerment strategies for women, enhancing political parties’ democracy processes and capacities
to be gender responsive and supporting women-focused civil society organizations (CSOs) to
strengthen their capacity to influence policy processes, and helping governance institutions to accept
and facilitate women’s participation and representation.
Young people are also affected by a large representational gap in almost every sphere of governance.
While approximately 25 percent of the world’s population is aged between 10 and 24 years, young
people are largely absent from governance structures, including governments, parliaments and
political parties. For instance, young people under 30 make up only 1.9 percent of the world’s 45,000
members of parliaments and young male parliamentarians outnumber their female counterparts
(Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2016). This contributes to a growing divide between decision-makers and
citizens, and has often resulted in young people seeking other ways to express their views, including
through violent or non-violent street action. A sense of exclusion also renders young people more
vulnerable to the risk of radicalization. Australia could help promote the inclusion of young people in
governance processes by harnessing digital technologies to foster their engagement with formal
political and governance institutions.
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Australia and International IDEA
International IDEA is an intergovernmental organization composed of 30 Member States, with the
mandate of supporting sustainable democracy worldwide. It has headquarters in Stockholm, liaison
offices to the EU (in Brussels), the UN (in New York) and a network of regional and country offices
around the globe. International IDEA’s Asia and the Pacific Regional Office is located in Canberra,
Australia.
Australia is a founding member of International IDEA and has made significant contributions to both
the financing and the governance of the organization for more than 20 years. Australia was the Council
Chair in 2012, First Vice Chair in 2013 and Second Vice Chair in 2011. In addition to providing annual
contributions to International IDEA (until 2014), Australia has partnered with our regional and country
offices to support electoral capacity building in Africa, democracy programmes in Asia and the Pacific,
the electoral integrity initiative, and local democracy assessment in the Autonomous Region of Muslim
Mindanao.
International IDEA has had operational partnerships with a number of Australian organizations in
recent years, including:

Australian Election Commission (AEC): AEC is a long-standing partner of International IDEA,
including through the establishment and management of BRIDGE electoral capacity development
tool. AEC is currently providing technical support to build the capacity of the Myanmar Union
Election Committee under the International IDEA’s project ‘STEP Democracy’ in Myanmar.

Australian National University: In 2002 a team at the Australian National University began a series
of democracy assessments to measure Australia’s strengths and weaknesses as a democratic
society. The project was institutionalized into the Democratic Audit of Australia, with a series of
thematic reports, articles and policy briefs including a full assessment report “the State of
Democracy (SoD) in Australia” in 2009, using International IDEA’s SoD assessment framework.

Melbourne Centre on Comparative Constitutional Law (CCCS): CCCS at the Melbourne Law School
has been collaborating with International IDEA to research constitution building processes and
creating network of Asia and the Pacific practitioners of constitution building processes.

University of Sydney: International IDEA has been working in partnership with the University of
Sydney for the Election Integrity project and published the Secure and Fair Elections (SAFE)
Workshop Model Curriculum together with the United Nations Development Programme.
Like Australia, International IDEA has also lately embarked on a review process aimed at defining a new
institutional strategy. This strategy will define priorities for International IDEA’s work in support of
sustainable democracy worldwide during the period 2018-2023. In that context, International IDEA
welcomes opportunities to maintain an open dialogue with Australia to enhance coordination and
synergies in our work.
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Annex
International IDEA Knowledge Products and Tools
Over the years, International IDEA has developed an extensive toolkit for democracy promotion
including knowledge resource tools, training tools, and analysis and assessment tools. Knowledge
resource tools are able to balance theory and practice by conveying main academic conclusions and
by bringing practical experiences relating to good and problematic practices. Examples of these are
International IDEA’s tools to promote and strengthen the role of key players in democracy and
development processes that are described in more detail below.
State of Democracy and State of Local Democracy Assessment Frameworks
International IDEA’s State of Democracy (SoD) and State of Local Democracy (SoLD) assessment
methodology helps citizens assess the quality of their democracy and define priority areas for policy
and democratic reform. The assessment frameworks enable citizens to periodically monitor the health
of their democracy and can contribute to strengthening national and local governments’
responsiveness. Over the years, International IDEA’s democracy assessment frameworks have been
used in more than 35 countries by different actors. There are indeed different potential audiences for
the product of a democracy assessment, which has both long- and short-term effects on the
assessments, each of which can be linked to developing strategies for reform. Citizens all over the
world, from countries as diverse as Australia, India, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka,
initiated and supported assessments. They were determined to find out more about their country’s
status quo and how to improve it. Assessments have been conducted in post-conflict countries and
areas of smouldering violence, as well as in those with a long history of peace, and in old and new
democracies and countries in transition.
Democratic Accountability in Service Delivery (DASD) Assessment Framework
International IDEA considers that democratic accountability should be a fundamental concept in
implementing the 2030 Agenda and monitoring progress towards its goals. In that context,
International IDEA’s guide on Democratic Accountability in Service Delivery can be a useful tool. It
enables users to assess the degree to which public service delivery in a country or region is subject to
democratic accountability checks and to identify policy options for improvement. Thus far, it has been
used to empower local experts to assess democratic accountability in service delivery in Fiji, Haiti,
Malawi, Mongolia, the Philippines and Ukraine. For example, International IDEA’s assessment report
on service delivery after the Typhoon Haiyan’s aftermath provides valuable insights into how
accountability relationships within disaster emergency relief function, and discusses how to strengthen
the complicated network of involved actors and their correspondence with local communities.
International IDEA stands committed to engage with Member States, including Australia, to discuss
how the guide could contribute to monitoring progress on the goals of the 2030 Agenda at national,
regional and global levels.
Migration and Democracy
In response to increasing flows of refugees and asylum seekers and a growing need to address the
challenges related to their integration in host countries, International IDEA has been implementing a
research project aiming to fill a knowledge gap on the impact of large refugee and asylum seeker
movements on democracy. It will identify and promote policy recommendations to facilitate their
inclusion in civic and political life in origin and host countries, building on International IDEA’s expertise
in global democracy trends and strategies for the political inclusion of marginalized groups. The project
report‘s findings and policy recommendations will be based on case studies from ten host countries
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and five origin countries, as well as expert input collected through a roundtable meeting with case
study authors and representatives of organizations working on issues relevant to the accommodation
of refugees and asylum seekers.
Protecting Politics
Since 2009, International IDEA has been engaged in the Protecting Politics project, focused on research
regarding the corrosive effects of organized crime over democratic politics, as well as in-country policy
support to tackle those challenges. Since 2013, International IDEA has been developing the IntegriTAS
Threat Assessment System. This system will support users in gathering data about (1) institutional
weaknesses in a given geographical area, and (2) organized crime activities in the same geographical
area. This joint understanding will help users map and monitor risks of political corruption linked to
organized crime. Furthermore, the assessment’s findings will be used to engage policy makers in
prevention and mitigation strategies, particularly regarding transparency, accountability and related
anti-corruption mechanisms. Publications that have so far been produced have focused on three key
regions: the Baltic States (2013), West Africa (2013), and Latin America (2014). International IDEA has
also focused on gathering data on global trends about the nexus of organized crime with elections;
political parties; local democracy; and service delivery and accountability. These trends are compiled
in four reports that the Institute and its partners published in 2016, and they include comparative case
studies that illustrate prevention and mitigation strategies in different regions of the world.
Democratic Governance of Natural Resources
Political accountability and broad dialogue are key elements to harness oil, gas and mining resources
to foster inclusive development. International IDEA works to improve democratic governance of
natural resources by supporting the involvement of democratically-elected institutions and actors in
the decision-making process. Our forthcoming guide, produced in partnership with the Natural
Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), will help political parties develop and agree among themselves
on long-term policy positions on natural resources management. International IDEA looks forward to
working with Member States, including Australia, to promote the use of that guide, as well as our other
resources, to strengthen national resources governance around the world.
ConstitutionNet
In 2008, International IDEA established www.constitutionnet.org, an online portal of resources, news
and analysis on constitution building. It has become a “go-to” resource for policy-makers, media, NGOs,
academia and international observers, who use it to find information and best practices on a wide
array of constitution-related questions. Who should write a country’s constitution? Should
reproductive rights be protected in the Constitution? How to enshrine gender equality in the
Constitution? Through www.constitutionnet.org, International IDEA also brings together a global
community of constitutional experts that can be called upon to provide customized analysis and policy
advice on key national and global constitutional issues.
Women’s Political Participation and Representation
In line with Goal 5 of Agenda 2030 on gender equality, International IDEA works to strengthen the
rights and voices of women and girls in governance structures and democratic processes, by facilitating
the adoption of gender-sensitive policies and equal opportunity measures in constitutions, electoral
systems, political parties and parliaments such as a ‘Framework for Developing Gender Policies for
Political Parties’ and a ‘Framework for Developing Internal Gender Policies for Electoral Management
bodies (EMBs)’. International IDEA also produces global comparative knowledge on the barriers to
women’s political participation and successful strategies to overcome them. International IDEA stands
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committed to share its resources on women’s political participation and representation with Member
States, including data and policy advice on gender quotas, capacity-building tools for political parties
and a guide for assessing the state of democracy in a country or region from a gender perspective. For
example, International IDEA’s assessment tool Constitution Assessment for Women’s Equality helps
users analyse a constitution or draft constitution from the perspective of the substantive equality of
women. Using a series of questions, short explanations and example provisions from constitutions
around the world, the Assessment guides you through an examination of the most critical
constitutional issues that affect women’s rights and gender equality. As Australia has a strong national
interest in gender equality, and in the Pacific, systematic gender assessment of the Pacific constitutions
may propose and bring about more results than current trend of training and awareness building.
Youth Inclusion
To stimulate the political participation and representation of young people, International IDEA is
currently developing a capacity-building project, called Include the Youth, to build the skills of young
people so that they can better contribute to democratic processes and institutions. It will bring
International IDEA’s 20 years of knowledge on democracy into a comprehensive and customizable
learning curriculum, covering both technical knowledge and practical skills, and offer young graduates
who successfully complete this curriculum internships in institutions involved in democratic processes.
The first implementation of this curriculum has been taking place in Tunisia since 2016.
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