Resources

Strengthening Parliamentary Accountability, Citizen Engagement and Access to Information: A Global Survey of Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations

With the potential to give voice to citizen concerns, oversee public spending, and help spur development, parliaments play a key role in deepening democracy. Citizen groups have become more active in monitoring parliaments, assessing their performance and coming up with new ways to enable citizens to participate in the political process.

Public Discontent and Divisions Intensifying Results from the July 2011 Iraq National Survey

Iraqi perceptions of their government and leaders go from bad to worse. A third round of focus groups indicated that the window of opportunity for the new government is quickly shutting, and that as time goes by, citizens grow increasingly frustrated with a lack of responsiveness from their leaders. Focus group participants characterized the government as deaf to their concerns, politically divided, solely self-interested, and lacking the capacity and willingness to address their problems.

Focus Group Report and NDI Poll: Iraqi Views on Politics, Sectarianism and Women, February - March 2011

Focus groups conducted in January suggest that, although Iraqis continued to have an optimistic view toward their country’s democracy, they had significant grievances about the lack of job opportunities and services that they expected from the government. Iraqis continued to question the self-interested motives of the political elites and pointed to administrative corruption and government appointments as prime examples of politicians putting their own interests ahead of the people’s.

Public Attitudes Toward Elections in Georgia: Results of a July 2010 Survey

Iraqis Discouraged by Post‐Election Government Negotiations

In a public opinion survey of 4,000 respondents conducted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in late June 2010, the frustration of the Iraqi people with the prolonged negotiations over the formation of a new government was evident. The poll also showed that a large majority of Iraqi citizens believed that the country was heading in the wrong direction.