On December 12th, NDI President Ken Wollack testified before the Asia Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the recent rollback of democracy in Cambodia. After 25 years of work with all political parties in Cambodia — including the ruling party — NDI was ordered to close its office on August 23, 2017, as part of a broader campaign against civil society, independent media and the political opposition.

In 2017, public opinion research conducted by NDI revealed that 85 percent of citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) believe that politicians use existing ethnic tensions for political gain. More than two decades since the Dayton agreement ended inter-ethnic war in BiH, political competition remains largely aligned along ethnic lines, and public discourse often focuses on the division of power among ethnic groups.

One year since the operation to liberate Mosul started, locals have begun to return home in search of whatever semblance of their previous lives might still remain. They have discovered, however, that liberation has come at a high cost, as 80 percent of the city now lies in ruin.

From November 13 to 17, NDI welcomed members of parliament (MPs) from the Sahel region of Africa to Washington, D.C. for a parliamentary exchange program in partnership with the Institute for Representative Government (IRG). The delegation included six MPs from majority and minority parties from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger who are working in their respective legislatures on combating violent extremism and enhancing citizen security. The program, supported by the State Department’s Office of Citizen Exchanges, focused on the vital role of parliaments in combating violent extremism and reducing state fragility through democratic engagement. During the program, the delegates met with U.S. policy makers and experts to discuss how parliaments can respond effectively to rising threats of violent extremism and strengthen security in the Sahel region and globally.