Overview
| | Overview | |
| NDI Activities | CCMR Activities | ISDS Activities | SER en el 2000 Activities |
Now in its third year, the Partnership for Democratic Governance and Security (PDGS) continues working to help strengthen the ability of civilians in emerging democracies to guarantee civilian control of the armed forces. Such strengthening is accomplished by offering information and education to civilian authorities, thus enhancing the needed capacity for leadership in management, administration and training of the military. In many cases, civilian political leadership in emerging democracies lack this fundamental knowledge, especially with regards to defense matters that have been treated as the exclusive domain of the military. Where civilian authorities in nascent democracies have not achieved a certain level of democratic development, the armed forces are sometimes not adequately managed and controlled, and can intervene inappropriately in the governance of the country, as occurred recently in Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador and Pakistan. The PDGS has worked primarily to consolidate the three pillars on which the program rests - the PDGS web site, scholarly writing of resource materials that will be of practical use to civilian decision-makers in emerging democracies and country-specific technical assistance. First, the Partnership has developed a web site (www.pdgs.org.ar / www.pdgs.org), which has enjoyed an increasing number of visitors from all over the world. The site has been designed to provide necessary and important information on all aspects of civil-military relations. In an effort to make this resource more accessible, it was written in a language that is user friendly for experts and non-experts alike. There are various mechanisms on the web site that permit each visitor to view various types of resources related to defense and security issues including academic information, news articles, laws and policy directives, among others. The site is also being used to put interested individuals or groups in contact with experts with wide experiences, so that they can interact on specific questions or topics that may address problems common to democratic, civilian control of the military. Each of the Partners has contributed extensively to the establishment of these mechanisms. The academic component of the PDGS program is realized through papers produced for the international seminars - Manila 1999 and Buenos Aires 2000 - and the production of resource papers that deal with issues central to civil-military relations. Topics include the role of democratic oversight of the intelligence establishment and the internal versus external security role of the armed forces. In addition, country-specific case studies have been written to identify lessons learned in countries that are transitioning to democracy, such as Guatemala, Indonesia, and Mozambique. The PDGS also provides technical assistance to countries in the midst of the transition process. Such assistance is developed through the participation of experts from around the world, brought together to participate in diverse activities. For example, the PDGS compiled experts for an NDI regional seminar in Dakar, Senegal on the role of the legislature in civil-military relations in April 1999. Stemming from this, the Partnership is elaborating a list of people whose expertise in civilian-military relations and governance can be used to support countries trying to establish democratic norms of civilian control of the armed forces. |
The PDGS is managed by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and is funded principally through a cooperative agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Its membership consists of the following four organizations in the United States, the Philippines, and Argentina: |
1. The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI, Washington, D.C.) is a nonprofit organization that works to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide and provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders, advancing democratic values, practices and institutions.
2. The Center for Civil-Military Relations at the Naval Post-Graduate School (CCMR, Monterey, CA) is an implementing organization of the U.S. Department of Defense's Expanded-International Military Education and Training Program and has amassed both scholarly and practical expertise educating civilian and military defense professionals.
3. The Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Inc. (ISDS, Manila, the Philippines) is an international organization acknowledged for its regional expertise, publication experience and relations with key actors throughout Asia.
4. Regional Strategic Security in the Year 2000 (SER en el 2000, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a security affairs think tank that publishes a journal on regional security issues and is the creator of the Security and Defense for South America web site.
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