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There is an ever-increasing number of applications and tools available for different democratic purposes but only a fraction of them are explicitly marketed towards political parties. Yet, many tools, which are not targeting the political scene explicitly can be valuable for parties – ranging from internal communications to constituency outreach and campaigning.

Results management can be crucial to the progress of democracy assistance projects and programs, particularly when applied in ways that are inclusive, contextualized and sensitive to local partners’ space for learning and ownership.

However, there appears to be a tendency among funders to push for applications that focus on upward accountability and control to ensure value for money

Mongolia, which this year celebrated the 25th anniversary of its transition to democracy, presented the priorities for its new role as 2016 Chair of International IDEA under the theme of "Learning from Democratic Transitions." This focus draws on the country’s rich experiences of building democratic institutions and strengthening democratic values.

The Secure and Fair Elections (SAFE) Workshop Model Curriculum combines academic and practitioner perspectives to provide a holistic insight into the principles, challenges and good practices related to electoral security.

During the past 12 months, International IDEA has been showcasing the electoral processes exhibition during particular events and conferences in the Americas, Europe and Africa.

The educational exhibition includes four displays and an interactive component designed to introduce the world of elections as well as International IDEA’s work on electoral processes to the general public and stakeholders.

This Policy Paper aims to fill a significant gap in the policy and academic literature on the process and design of interim constitutions in conflict-affected settings.

It argues that, unlike both peace agreements and interim arrangements, the strength of interim constitutions lies in their legal enforceability. It examines the diversity of post-1990 interim constitutions in terms of their structure and their role in broader peacebuilding processes.

The use of social media during elections has increased dramatically in recent years.

Electoral management bodies (EMBs) have noted stakeholders’ increasing reliance on social media throughout the electoral cycle, but have also voiced concerns about the potential use of social media to spread hate speech, misinformation and rumours.

Recent events in North Africa, commonly referred to as the Arab Spring, have led to an increased focus on the importance of constitution building as a participatory activity. The process of how constitutions are designed and implemented is changing and this shift allows for more opportunities for civil society to be involved and take on a greater role than in the past.

Presidents in presidential and semi-presidential democracies typically possess, in addition to executive powers strictly defined, certain legislative initiative and agenda-setting powers that allow them to exercise political leadership, for example, enabling them to propose legislation, control the legislative agenda and issue decrees with legal force.

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press, Democratic Transitions: Conversations with World Leaders is a unique exploration of how countries become democracies, and the first volume in any language that focuses on learning lessons from political leaders about promoting and managing democratic transitions.

International IDEA’s Democracy and Development Programme co-hosted an event at the 25^th World Water Week in Stockholm on 26 August. World Water Week is an annual conference organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) which attracts more than 3,000 participants engaged in water and development issues from all over the world.

Wrapping up the three-day Global Conference on Money in Politics, International IDEA Secretary-General Yves Leterme highlighted the need to look ahead and take the experiences shared and gained in Mexico to continue the work on the issues involved in money in politics.

All political parties need funding to play their part in the political process, yet the role of money in politics is arguably the biggest threat to democracy today.

Why does organized crime relate to the work of democracy support in fragile affected contexts? How can organized crime affect post-conflict recovery and reconstruction? In particular, how can it be a challenge to state building?  

A presidential veto is a constitutional rule that enables a president (or elected head of state who might, in some cases, go by another title) to refuse assent to a bill that has been passed by the legislature, and thereby to stop the bill from becoming law. The grounds on which the veto power may be exercised and the difficulty of overturning the veto vary between jurisdictions.

Constitution-building processes in post-conflict settings are exceedingly difficult undertakings.

Actors that have previously engaged in violent confrontation become responsible for the (re)framing and (re)building of the post-conflict state. Interim constitutions represent a form of ‘political settlement’ that seeks to dis-incentivise armed conflict as a means of pursuing political goals.

Electronic voting is often seen as a tool for making the electoral process more efficient and for increasing trust in its management.

Properly implemented, e-voting solutions can increase the security of the ballot, speed up the processing of results and make voting easier. However, the challenges are considerable. If not carefully planned and designed, e-voting can undermine the confidence in the whole electoral process.