DemWorks, a podcast by the National Democratic Institute

To celebrate International Youth Day 2020 Rachel Mims, Senior Program Officer for Youth Political Participation at NDI, is joined by three young leaders from Zambia, Lebanon, and Moldova. They discuss competitive youth debate as an opportunity to build political skills, actively contribute to solving social problems, and create greater space for youth inclusion in public life. To read more, please go to https://www.ndi.org/youth-leading-debate

Navigating challenging and complex civic spaces is nothing new for local organizations working to advance the rights and inclusion of LGBTI communities. Join NDI Senior Program Officer for Citizen Participation for a conversation with three partners from across the globe working to sustain their advocacy for equality and inclusion, while tackling some of the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

NDI President Derek Mitchell and NDI Board Chairman Secretary Madeleine Albright talk about her new book Hell and Other Destinations, and her experiences as Secretary of State. She reflects on U.S. foreign policy, democratic trends, and her hopes for the future. This podcast was recorded May 27, 2020, prior to demonstrations in support of racial equality across the United States.

NDI’s Director of Electoral Programs Pat Merloe spoke with Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA) about why democracy assistance is more important during today’s COVID-19 pandemic than ever, the rise of authoritarian opportunists, and her experience participating in international election observation missions. Listen to hear the Congresswoman’s advice about how global leaders can build trust and practice good governance.

Many countries with scheduled elections this year face a difficult choice in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: how to balance public health considerations with holding a free and fair election. Learn more from NDI Senior Associate and Director of Electoral Programs Pat Merloe and Program Director Julia Brothers as they talk about democratic back-sliding during this crisis, electoral integrity, and ways civil society organizations can still make a difference.

As much as COVID-19 is a health and economic crisis, at its core, it is also a governance crisis. NDI President Derek Mitchell and new Director of Democratic Governance Kristen Sample delve into ways governments and the international community have risen (or not) to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NDI’s Chris Fomunyoh is once again joined by Ambassador Johnnie Carson as they discuss the steps that can be taken to strengthen democracy. They continue their conversation with their thoughts on the key challenges and opportunities facing Africa this year.

Chris Fomunyoh, Senior associate and regional director for Central Western Africa at NDI is joined by Ambassador Johnnie Carson, a proud member of the Board of Directors of NDI with a 37-year career in the US foreign service focused on Africa. 2020 looks like it’ll be an exciting year for Africa with emerging opportunities for some countries to consolidate their democracies, but what backsliding could undermine recent gains in democratic governance?

What are the challenges of democracy and governance work and how you build inclusion, especially amongst youth? DemWorks is back at the US Institute of Peace to continue the discussion on the role of governance in the prevention of violence and to fight violent extremism. NDI’s Lauren van Metre is once again joined at the US Institute of Peace by activists Emna Jeblaoui (Tunisia), Jacob Bul Bior (South Sudan), Samson Itodo (Nigeria) and Aluel Atem (South Sudan).

In the latest episode of DemWorks, NDI’s Lauren van Metre is joined at the US Institute of Peace by global activists Emna Jeblaoui (Tunisia), Jacob Bul Bior (South Sudan), Samson Itodo (Nigeria) and Aluel Atem (South Sudan). They discuss new thinking about mobilizing good governance and the challenge violent extremism poses to democracy.

As DemWorks first year draws to a close, NDI President Derek Mitchell has one final question for his predecessors, Brian Atwood and Ken Wollack. How, as an American organization, has NDI remained separate from the U.S. government, and how has the issue of democracy support evolved over time?

NDI President Derek Mitchell continues his conversation with his predecessors, Brian Atwood and Ken Wollack about NDIs history since the fall of the Berlin Wall. In this episode they discuss NDIs impact on the trajectory of democratic development, and where they see the greatest potential for dramatic democratic change.

Recorded just blocks from the Brandenburg Gate, NDI’s Robert Benjamin continues his discussion with Zuzana Papazoski about the fall of the Berlin wall and its effect on modern society. With so many questions surrounding democracy, are the lessons learned in the 1990’s still relevant?

In our second Demworks episode recorded in Berlin, NDI’s director for Central and Eastern Europe, Rob Benjamin talks to Zuzana Papazoski, who currently runs NDI’s programs in Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Three decades after the Iron Curtain was lifted, they discuss the dramatic revolutions and democratic change that swept across Europe. How were they driven, in great part, by young people?

In DemWorks first Skype episode, NDI’s Nadia Mouzykina, speaking from Berlin, talks to Natalia Slepuhin in Moldova. Natalia is a member of the European Democracy Youth Network, and discusses the new challenges faced by democracy and the work EDYN is doing to make sure young people have a voice. EDYN is supported by the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, and USAID.

DemWorks is coming to you from the heart of Berlin on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Thirty years ago, a wave of revolutions swept across Europe - revolutions that were driven by young people who demanded democracy. Decades later, democracy faces new challenges in Europe, and a new generation is driving a new wave of change. NDI’s Nadia Mouzykina and IRI’s Sam Johannes are joined by three inspiring members of the European Democracy Youth Network to discuss why young voices and young leaders are critical to democracy. EDYN is supported by the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, and USAID.

In this special episode of Demworks, NDI President Derek Mitchell is joined by his predecessors at NDI, Brian Atwood and Ken Wollack. The three discuss the years before and after November 9, 1989, the day the Berlin Wall fell. Together on this anniversary, they take stock, talking about the evolution of NDI’s work around this period, discussing the specific cases that helped shape the Institute, and reflecting on lessons learned given the state of democracy today.

In this bonus episode, we return to Demworks Live! Why is political polarization happening now?, as NDI President Derek Mitchell discusses why political polarization has become a growing trend for democracies around the world. NDI’s Washington, D.C. staff had the opportunity to pose questions to renowned global expert on democratization, Tom Carothers, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and NDI’s Senior Advisor for political parties, Sef Ashiagdor. They discuss the points of resilience against severe polarization and the role that political parties play in democracies.

DemWorks celebrates its 10th episode with a special live installment, discussing the rising threat of political polarization. NDI President Derek Mitchell sits down with renowned global expert on democratization, Tom Carothers of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and NDI’s Senior Advisor for political parties, Sef Ashiagdor. They discuss the points of resilience against severe polarization that exist and the role that political parties play in democracies. Additionally, NDI’s Washington, D.C. staff had the opportunity to ask the panel their own questions on why political polarization is a growing trend for democracies around the world.

As the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall nears, questions of democracy’s current state in Central and Eastern Europe are particularly prevalent. Is democracy in a crisis? Or is it still on an encouraging pattern? This week, NDI President Derek Mitchell sits down with Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, analyst, professor, and historian, Anne Applebaum to discuss the current state of democracy in Europe, and how that affects the rest of the world. Listen as they face the current challenges to democracy, while assessing its continued resilience.

In this DemWorks podcast we explore humor, arguably the most democratic form of speech. We talk to Matt Wuerker, the Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist for Politico, one of the leading news organizations in the United States dedicated to American politics. Matt’s cartoons pull no punches, skewering Democrats, Republicans and all types of political absurdity. Matt also serves on the board of Cartoonists Rights Network International, an organization that has worked to defend the rights and security of political cartoonists worldwide.

Tunisians go to the polls on Sunday for the second democratic presidential election in the country’s modern history. What will they be thinking about as they cast their ballots? Jobs? Human rights? Pollution? How will these and other priorities reshape the political landscape in the months and years to come, as the country navigates the choppy waters of economic stagnation and more stringent popular demands for elected leaders to deliver? And how do those leaders—from the president all the way down—actually realize the promises they make during election season? (Podcast Transcription: https://www.demworks.org/how-will-2019-fit-story-tunisias-democratic-development) The answers to these questions are relevant not just to the people of #Tunisia—the birthplace of the Arab Spring—but for small-‘d’ democrats across the region who look to the country for hope and guidance. In the newest episode of the #DemWorks podcast, Leo Spaans, our country director in Tunisia, and Les Campbell, NDI regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, try to provide some answers.

DemWorks continues to celebrate International Youth Day by exploring the importance of gender equality in democracy. In episode 6, Laura Jewett, NDI’s regional director for Eurasia speaks with Olena Yena, who directs the Women Lead program in NDI’s Ukraine office. Olena spearheads NDI initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality, enhancing women's political participation, and combating gender stereotypes and discrimination.

In this episode of the DemWorks podcast, Michelle Brown, senior advisor for elections at NDI talks to NDI analyst Calvin Garner about Ukraine’s recent parliamentary elections. For the last seven months, Calvin has served as an expert analyst for NDI's international election observation mission in Ukraine, focusing on how media and digital trends are shaping—and in some cases undermining—the information environment around the election. They discuss how advances in digital communications impact pivotal elections.

In this episode of the DemWorks podcast, NDI President Derek Mitchell joins veteran journalist and Time magazine Person of the Year, Maria Ressa, at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. They discuss the work of the Design 4 Democracy Coalition, the opportunities and challenges that technology presents for democracy, the threat of disinformation and the ways that authoritarians are using technology for nefarious purposes.

In this DemWorks crossover episode, NDI President Derek Mitchell talks to Chris Walker and Shanthi Kalathil from the National Endowment for Democracy (the NED) about the rise of authoritarian influence around the world. With a focus on China, they discuss how China’s Communist Party has survived since Tiananmen Square, the One Belt, One Road initiative, and the hard questions China’s rise poses to open societies’ most fundamental principles.

In this second episode of the DemWorks podcast, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, the deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration in Ukraine, talks to NDI President Derek Mitchell about her decision to run for parliament in the wake of the Ukrainian revolution, confrontations with misogyny early in her career, and her fight to open up the Ukrainian military to female service members.

Derek Mitchell, NDI President, talks to the incomparable Madeleine K. Albright about her role as a risk-taking woman leader, the state of democracy and her role as Chairman of NDI from its founding in 1983.