Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. The opposite process is known as democratic backsliding or autocratization.
The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body set up to support democratic institutions overseas. It was established on 26 February 1992 and registered as a company limited by guarantee in the UK. It receives funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID), which were merged into the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) in September 2020.
The Second Congo War, also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year after the First Congo War, and involved some of the same issues. The war officially ended in July 2003, when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power. Although a peace agreement was signed in 2002, violence has continued in many regions of the country, especially in the east. Hostilities have continued since in the ongoing Lord's Resistance Army insurgency, and the Kivu and Ituri conflicts. Nine African countries and around twenty-five armed groups became involved in the war.
According to The Economist Group's Democracy Index 2020 study, Israel is the only democratic country in the Middle East, while Tunisia is the only democracy in North Africa. The level of democracy in nations throughout the world published by Freedom House, a U.S.-based, U.S. government-funded advocacy organization, and in various other freedom indices, report the Middle Eastern and North African countries with the highest scores are Israel, Tunisia, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan and Kuwait. Countries that have been consistently labelled as 'not free' by Freedom House (2017-2021) have been Iran, Iraq and Egypt. They have been increasingly becoming more and more adverse to the idea of liberal democracy with their scores steadily decreasing, only Iraq out of these countries have maintained some level of internet freedom with a score of 41/100. The remaining countries of the Middle East are categorised as authoritarian regimes, with the lowest scores held by Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Interventionism refers to a political practice of intervention, particularly to the practice of governments to interfere in political affairs of other countries, staging military or trade interventions. Economic interventionism refers to a different practice of intervention, one of economic policy at home.
The Second Republic of the Congo Civil War was the second of two ethnopolitical civil conflicts in the Republic of the Congo, beginning on 5 June 1997 and continuing until 29 December 1999. The war served as the continuation of the civil war of 1993–1994 and involved militias representing three political candidates. The conflict ended following the intervention of the Angolan military, which reinstated former president Denis Sassou Nguesso to power.
Articles related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo include:
René Lemarchand is a French-American political scientist who is known for his research on ethnic conflict and genocide in Rwanda, Burundi and Darfur. Publishing in both English and French, he is particularly known for his work on the concept of clientelism. He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida, and continues to write, teach internationally and consult. Since retiring he has worked for USAID out of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire as a Regional Consultant for West Africa in Governance and Democracy, and as Democracy and Governance advisor to USAID / Ghana.
Mobutu Sese Seko's foreign policy emphasized his alliance with the United States and the Western world while ostensibly maintaining a non-aligned position in international affairs. Mobutu ruled the Republic of the Congo and then Zaire as president for 32 years, from 1965 to 1997.
The Congolese National Liberation Front is a political party funded by rebels of Katangese origin and composed of ex-members of the Katangese Gendarmerie. It was active mainly in Angola and Zaire during the 1970s.
Democracy promotion, which can also be referred to as democracy assistance, democracy support, or democracy building, is a strand of foreign policy adopted by governments and international organizations that seek to support the spread of democracy as a political regime around the world. Among the reasons for supporting democracy include the belief that countries with a democratic system of governance are less likely to go to war, are likely to be economically better off and socially more harmonious. In democracy building, the process includes the building and strengthening of democracy, in particular the consolidation of democratic institutions, including courts of law, police forces, and constitutions. Some critics have argued that the United States has used democracy promotion to justify military intervention abroad.
Republic of the Congo–United States relations are the international relations between the Republic of the Congo and the United States of America.
Republic of the Congo–Russia relations refers to bilateral foreign relations between the Republic of the Congo and Russia. The Republic of the Congo has an embassy in Moscow. Russia has an embassy in Brazzaville.
The 1990s in the Republic of the Congo, starting with a collapse of the People's Republic of the Congo single party government and the promise of multi-party democracy, gradually slid into political controversy, culminating in a 1997-99 Civil War.
Radio for Peacebuilding Africa (RFPA) was a program founded in 2003 by the international non-profit organization Search for Common Ground. Working on the assumption that radio is the most accessible form of mass communication in Africa, RFPA trained journalists in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and acting on commonalities.
American democracy promotion aims to encourage governmental and non-governmental actors to pursue political reforms that will lead ultimately to democratic governance.
S. N. Sangmpam is a professor, author, and political analyst. He teaches comparative political economy, international relations, and African American politics in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and in the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University, USA. Sangmpam is also a contributor in the field of politics for the Huffington Post.
Staffan I. Lindberg, is a Swedish political scientist, Principal Investigator for Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute and Director of the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg. He is a professor in the Department of Political Science, and member of the Board of University of Gothenburg, Sweden member of the Young Academy of Sweden, Wallenberg Academy Fellow, Research Fellow at the Quality of Government Institute; and senior advisor for the Oslo Analytica.
Séverine Autesserre is a French-American author and researcher. She writes about war and peace, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and African politics. Autesserre is a professor and Chair of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she specializes in international relations and African studies. She previously worked for international humanitarian and development agencies.
A democratic intervention is a military intervention by external forces with the aim of assisting democratization of the country where the intervention takes place. Examples include intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq. Democratic intervention has occurred throughout the mid-twentieth century, as evidenced in Japan and Germany after World War II, where democracies were imposed by military intervention.
