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Committee for a Community of Democracies--USA records
92026  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Historical Note
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Related Collection(s)

  • Title: Committee for a Community of Democracies--USA records
    Date (inclusive): 1979-1992
    Collection Number: 92026
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 20 manuscript boxes (8.1 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: The papers include correspondence, memoranda, reports, meeting minutes, agendas, conference proceedings, financial records, and sound recordings related to efforts of the CCD-USA to promote international cooperation and to fundraising efforts. Includes some records of the International Committee for a Community of Democracies (ICCD).
    Creator: Committee for a Community of Democracies--USA.
    Creator: International Committee for a Community of Democracies
    Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Access

    The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

    Use

    For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Acquisition Information

    Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1992.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Committee for a Community of Democracies--USA records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Historical Note

    The United States division of the Committee for a Community of Democracies (CCD-USA), a private nonprofit organization to promote international cooperation among democratic countries, was incorporated in July 1983. The goal of the committee was to study relationships between democratic nations and the ways in which those relationships could be strengthened.
    The concept of the Committees for a Community of Democracies was envisioned in 1979 when a small group started meeting at the Atlantic Council of the United States. In 1982, groups in Washington and London organized an international meeting, where a representative from Australia suggested that the CCD widen the scope of its objectives to include closer cooperation among democracies.
    In 1983, the CCD-USA sent a delegation to the Conference on Parliamentary Democracy held in Strasbourg, and soon after, the CCD-USA received a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to hold a preparatory meeting (called PREFACE) on democratic solidarity at the Wingspread Conference Center in Wisconsin, which was attended by 36 participants from 26 countries. The attendants of this meeting implemented a resolution to create the International Committee for a Community of Democracies (ICCD), a group which would include all of the attendants of the PREFACE meeting, as well as all members of local CCDs. At this meeting, proposals were also submitted for the creation of the Association for Democracies (to provide a forum or meeting place for CCD), the International Institute for Democracy (created as a resource for democracies in need of help), and a caucus of democracies in the United Nations. Participants at PREFACE envisioned a program of seminars, leading to an all-democracies conference.
    In December 1988, the All-Democracies Conference was held at the Gerald R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The conference boasted 68 representatives from 44 democracies, with former United States presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter serving as co-hosts of the event.
    In 1992, the Association to Unite the Democracies embarked on the Next Century Initiative (NCI), which was based on the ideas of the Committees for a Community of Democracies and involved many of its early members. The NCI became incorporated as a separate group, eventually becoming the Council for a Community of Democracies.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The papers document the work of the United States division of the Committee for a Community of Democracies (CCD-USA) through correspondence, memoranda, reports, meeting minutes, agendas, conference proceedings, financial records, and sound recordings related to efforts of the CCD-USA to promote international cooperation. The collection includes some records of the International Committee for a Community of Democracies (ICCD), an administrative body for CCDs around the world, with CCD-USA serving as its operational center.
    The collection is arranged based on original headings and a numbering scheme attached to those headings. Although series names (with the exclusion of the sound recordings) were taken from ten headings found within the collection, several of the original headings were changed to clarify series contents. Folders without headings were integrated into the existing system.
    The CCD-USA sought to establish and study relationships between democratic nations. The Administrative file and Organization and administration file contain background information on the work of the CCD-USA, as well as chronological files of correspondence for administrators of the CCD-USA, meeting minutes, correspondence, and membership lists. Also included are documents dating from the early years of the CCD and the CCD-USA, including materials from the first international meeting in London, and letters of Ronald Reagan and George Shultz.
    The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) was the primary source of funding for the CCD-USA. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) file includes grants and quarterly progress reports that the CCD-USA submitted to NED detailing project goals and outcomes. Files on other funders can be found in the Funding sources and activities file.
    The CCD-USA received a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to hold a preparatory meeting (called PREFACE) on democratic solidarity at the Wingspread Conference Center in Wisconsin. The PREFACE conference at Wingspread, post-conference action file contains correspondence, proposals, and reports on projects envisioned at that conference, such as the regional seminars, the All-Democracies Conference, the International Committee for a Community of Democracies (ICCD), and the Association of Democracies. The Projects file details the organization of these meetings, including PREFACE, and contains material on groups proposed during these conferences, such as the International Institute for Democracy. The Policy matters file contains proposals for these projects, as well as policy meeting minutes.
    Media coverage of the CCD-USA is documented in the Public relations and the media file through clippings, correspondence, and newsletters. The Name lists and individual file includes correspondence between CCD-USA members and people around the world.
    The Sound recordings contain speeches of former presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter given at the All-Democracies Conference.

    Related Collection(s)

    James Robert Huntley papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Democracy
    United States -- Foreign relations
    United States -- Relations
    International cooperation