Between October and November of 2006 NDI conducted a series of focus group discussions in nine Iraqi provinces. These discussions revealed that one year after the passage of a constitution and the election of a permanent government, Iraqis are experiencing frustration bordering on despair regarding their living conditions and the state of affairs in their country.  Measured expressions of hope and optimism found in earlier research have largely been replaced by words of disillusionment and suspicion. 

In a March 29 Washington Post article, NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright and Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Archbishop of Cape Town, condemn the violent crackdown on political rights in Zimbabwe.

Remarks by NDI President Kenneth Wollack at the Library of Congress/National Endowment for Democracy event honoring President Václav Havel.

20 February 2007:

Sixteen years ago, in 1991, NDI recognized Václav Havel with its W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award, honoring him for his years as a dissident, political essayist and leading figure in the Velvet Revolution of 1989—the bloodless end to communism in Czechoslovakia.

On Jan. 21, Serbia held its parliamentary elections on the eve of the international community’s decision about Kosovo’s future status. While Serbia’s political culture has long been blemished with periodic bouts of ethnic strife and nationalism, these elections offered an opportunity for the country to demonstrate its commitment to the democratic process and a more diverse and representative government.