Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Center for Democracy (Washington, D.C.)
- Abstract:
- Reports, studies, conference proceedings, minutes, correspondence, briefing books, press releases, financial records, printed matter, photographs, videotape, sound recordings, and memorabilia, relating to legislative, judicial and electoral processes in newly democratic countries.
- Extent:
- 779 manuscript boxes, 24 oversize boxes (342.8 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Center for Democracy records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Center for Democracy records include reports, studies, conference proceedings, minutes, correspondence, briefing books, press releases, financial records, printed matter, photographs, videotapes, and sound recordings related to legislative, judicial, and electoral processes in newly democratic countries.
Founded in 1985 by Allen Weinstein, the Center for Democracy was an American private nonprofit foundation for the promotion of institutions of democratic government. As part of its mission, the Center monitored local and national elections in countries such as El Salvador, the Philippines, the Bahamas, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Poland, Guatemala, Russia, and the United States. In addition to election observation, the Center organized and sponsored conferences and training programs related to democratic and legislative issues.
The collection documents a range of the Center's activities, including the organization's role in the annual International Judicial Conference and election monitoring in Nicaragua in 1996. Materials tend to be organized into groups by country, conference, or project title. Of note are the briefing books created for board meetings, which include agendas, correspondence, memoranda, program descriptions, fact sheets, financial documents, and schedules.
- Biographical / historical:
-
American private nonprofit foundation for the promotion of institutions of democratic government abroad.
American private nonprofit foundation for the promotion of institutions of democratic government abroad.
Date Event 1985 Western Hemisphere Leaders ForumElection monitoring in El Salvador and the Philippines1986 Developed a plan to encourage the release of Govan Mbeki, Nelson Mandela's associate1987 September Brought Central American legislative leaders to Washington to meet with U.S. congressional leaders1988-1990 Organized the Commission on National Political Conventions1989 Election monitoring in Honduras1989-1990 Election monitoring in Panama and Nicaragua1990 Election monitoring in Costa Rica and Poland1990 December Launched the Library of Democracy1990-1991 Election monitoring in Guatemala1990-1993 Organized and sponsored East-West Dialogues1991 First U.S. organization invited by President Boris Yeltsin to establish an office in Moscow and assist in reform processElection monitoring in El Salvador1991-1993 Working with the Russian Journalists' Charity Foundation, assisted with distributions of food and medicine in Moscow1992 Meeting of the Russian-American Intellectual Property Task Force1993- International Judicial Conference1993 Election monitoring in Russia1993-1995 In cooperation with U.S. and U.N. officials, assisted transition to President Aristide's return in Haiti1994 Organized training seminars for legal professionals in Kyrgyzstan1994-1997 Responsible for a legal reform component in a USAID-sponsored consortium which supported NGO development in Russia1996 New Democracies ForumMonitored nine-month election process in NicaraguaConference of Slovak judicial leaders in Kosice1987 Election monitoring in the Bahamas1997-1998 Project to develop an Administrative Procedures Code for Nicaragua's judicial system1998 Co-sponsored U.S. China Seminarscirca 1999 U.S.-Indonesia Dialogue2000 Election monitoring in Russia2003 Merged with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) - Acquisition information:
- Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2004.
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Boxes 223 and 757-779 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of 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.
- Terms of access:
-
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Center for Democracy records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563