When a Roma camp in the northern, Serbian part of Kosovo’s divided city of Mitrovica was found to have lead contamination, the government built new houses for those affected in the south of the city. The new housing has gone unoccupied, however, as Roma have balked at moving into a new community without talking with residents in advance about how they would integrate into the area's economy, education system and other aspects of community life.

Against a backdrop of unfolding events in Egypt, Indonesia’s ambassador to the U.S., Dino Patti Djalal, recalled his country’s transition to democracy and the skepticism it engendered along the way.  Djalal, who has worked in the Indonesian government for more than 20 years, remembered those who doubted whether his country had a democratic future as it began the transition in 2001.  People would say, “It’s never going to work. Democracy is not right for Indonesia,” he told an audience at NDI. “When you hear that enough, you tend to be affected by it,” he said.

A group of politicians, civil society leaders and academics from the transatlantic community and emerging powers – including Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa – convened recently in Washington to discuss the potential for greater cooperation on democracy support.