Following the Year of Action after the first Summit for Democracy in 2021, NDI once again played a central role throughout the second Summit, held from March 28-30. This year’s Summit was a global event co-hosted with Costa Rica, The Netherlands, South Korea, Zambia, and the United States.

Analysis of African responses to Russia’s war on Ukraine has largely focused on examining United Nations voting patterns on sanctions and condemnation of the war. As the international community seeks to understand these reactions, a growing number of articles are drawing attention to Russia’s increased influence in Africa in recent years. That influence is not only geopolitical, it has implications for democracy in Africa.

In recent years, media stories in Kyrgyzstan have been dominated by scandals and tales of political gain, with policy discussion rarely capturing the public’s attention. It was, therefore, remarkable that in October, the video of a parliamentary hearing on a proposed bill on public education went viral on social media, garnering 357,000 views and over 2,600 comments on Instagram and catapulting local teachers into the national spotlight.

“We recognize now that violence against women in politics is not only a threat to women, but also a threat to democracy.”

Madeleine K. Albright