What is International IDEA?

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization with member states that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. Its objective is to strengthen democratic institutions and processes.
International IDEA acts as a catalyst for democracy building by providing knowledge resources, expertise and a platform for debate on democracy issues.  It works together with policymakers, donor governments, UN organizations and agencies, regional organizations and others engaged in the business of democracy building.

What does International IDEA do?

Democracy building is complex and touches on many areas including constitutions, electoral systems, political parties, legislative arrangements, the judiciary, central and local government, formal and traditional government structures. International IDEA is engaged with all of these issues and offers to those in the process of democratization:

• Knowledge resources, in the form of  handbooks, databases, websites and  expert networks;
• Policy proposals to provoke debate and action on democracy;
• Assistance with democratic reform in response to specific  national requests.

IDEA’s notable areas of expertise are:

• Constitution building processes: A constitutional process can lay the foundations for peace and development, or plant seeds of conflict. International IDEA is able to provide knowledge and make policy proposals for constitution building that is genuinely nationally owned, sensitive to gender and conflict-prevention dimensions, and responds effectively to national priorities.
• Electoral processes: The design and management of elections has a strong impact on the wider political system. International IDEA seeks to ensure the professional management and independence of elections, adapt electoral systems, and build public confidence in the electoral process.

• ACE Electoral Knowledge Network: International IDEA is one of the founding partners of the ACE Project and is hosting (with funding from the European Commission) the ACE Practitioners' Network Team that is setting up and managing the Practitioners' Network and the Regional Electoral Resource Centres of ACE.

• Political parties: Political parties form the essential link between voters and the government. Yet polls taken across the world show that political parties enjoy a low level of confidence. International IDEA analyses the functioning of political parties, the public funding of political parties, their management and relations with the public.
• Democracy and gender:  International IDEA recognises that if democracies are to be truly democratic, women – over half the world’s population – must be equally represented. International IDEA develops comparative resources and tools designed to advance the participation and representation of women in political life.
• Democracy assessments: Democratization is a national process. IDEA’s State of Democracy methodology allows people to assess their own democracy instead of relying on externally produced indicators or rankings of democracies.

Where does International IDEA work?

International IDEA works worldwide. It is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has offices in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Who owns International IDEA?
Currently International IDEA has 24 member states: Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, Germany, India, Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Uruguay. Japan has observer status.

Contact information:

International IDEA, Strömsborg, S-103 34 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 698 37 00, Fax: +46 8 20 24 22
E-mail: info@idea.int, Website: www.idea.int