The Political Economy of Democracy Promotion project is a collaboration between the International Development Department at the University of Birmingham and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) – the main democracy promotion organisation of the UK.
Over the past twenty years, with funding from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development, WFD has worked to strengthen legislatures, assistant political parties and encourage the growth of civil society in countries in Africa, Europe and Central Asia, and the Middle East.
The research project combines the analytical strengths of academic researchers – Professor Nic Cheeseman and Dr. Susan Dodsworth – with the practical experience of WFD. It will identify key lessons regarding the conditions under which democracy promotion activities are successful, and examine how such interventions can be improved. This will result in a host of policy relevant publications that will enable practitioners to improve their interventions, and the formation of new avenues of communication between academics working on democratisation and the policy community in this area.
The Political Economy of Democracy Promotion Project 