Focus group research conducted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in December 2013 and released today shows the public mood as negative, shaped by poor economic conditions. Unemployment and corruption top citizen concerns. There is an undercurrent of cautious optimism for reform--if elected leaders reach out to citizens and engage them meaningfully in public policy decisions. The latter is a marked contrast to focus group research conducted in October 2012, which showed a near universal conviction that the country was headed in the wrong direction.

Regardless of ideology, location or size, political parties seeking to make their practices more inclusive and to institutionalize their operations will benefit from this manual, which assembles the best practices of a range of established and broadly democratic political parties.

The democratic transition of the last 20 years in Central Europe and the Western Balkans has resulted in a rapid increase in the information available to parliaments. Thus, parliamentary research services must be adaptive and strategic in their provision of information to help members of parliament, committees and parliamentary staff amend laws and conduct government oversight.

WASHINGTON, DC—The National Democratic Institute (NDI) announced today that it will award its 2014 Madeleine K. Albright Grant to Aswat Nisaa (Women’s Voices) of Tunisia, an organization of Tunisian women and men created after the 2011 revolution to give women a greater role in the country’s political life and democratic transition.