Meeting the Moment

Four ways USAID is advancing a world where freedom is flourishing and democracy is delivering

At this pivotal moment — when democracies are confronting serious threats from within and outside their borders — the push for global democratic renewal takes on new urgency, commitment, and hope.

People all around the globe, including in the United States, are demanding democracy, human rights, rule of law, and accountable and responsive government.

They are coming out to the polls — and sometimes into the streets — to reject corruption, repression, and authoritarianism. And they have been heard.

Here at USAID, we also know that democracy and development are integrally linked. We know democracies are more peaceful, experience higher economic growth and lower poverty rates, protect the environment, provide more clean water, and have higher life expectancies. By advancing democratic development across our foreign assistance, we are ensuring that growth and prosperity lift up everyone — not just the most favored or wealthy — while protecting human rights and dignity.

Today, as we celebrate International Day of Democracy, read on to learn about four ways USAID is advancing a world where freedom is flourishing and democracy is delivering.

Advancing Partnerships and Global Momentum

At USAID, we are turning our focus toward bold efforts and powerful partnerships to strengthen our democracy policy and programming.

During the 2021 and 2023 Summits for Democracy, we showcased our revamped toolkit under the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal (PIDR), which is advancing digital democracy, election integrity, anti-corruption, broad-based movements, information integrity, media viability — and tackling other salient threats to democracy. At the second Summit in March 2023 — co-hosted by the Netherlands, Costa Rica, the Republic of Zambia, and the Republic of South Korea — we also contributed eight new initiatives to the PIDR, many of which focused on policy reforms.

Critically, the Summit also provided a platform for countries to show progress to a global audience on their 750 commitments since the first Summit, announce new commitments, and forge new coalitions and partnerships. It also spotlighted how people the world over share a common desire to live in free societies in which governments hear their voices and respect their human dignity.

Focusing on Local Experience in Charting People-Centered Justice

Studies show that as justice increases, the risk of conflict decreases. However, last year, according to the World Justice Project, more countries experienced weakening of the rule of law than those that experienced strengthening of it, as autocrats eroded checks on government power.

In this current climate, USAID’s new 2023 Rule of Law Policy — the first U.S. government policy dedicated to rule of law assistance — is especially critical. It responds to and addresses this challenge by building on more than two decades of programming, and highlights the importance of promoting rule of law worldwide as a foundation for democracy and sustainable, inclusive, and equitable development.

For USAID, rule of law isn’t just for lawyers and judges: it’s for and about people. With the launch of the policy, USAID shifted to a “people-centered justice” approach, which helps justice systems to address people’s everyday legal problems and justice needs, whether those are related to education, business, health, or the legal system. Rooted in significant evidence that demonstrates trust can be built on by changing how justice institutions engage the people they serve, this approach seeks to remove the obstacles to justice people face and improve their experience.

We believe that the rule of law should make a difference in the everyday lives of people around the world and the well-being of nations — to their security, to their economy, and especially to their ability to maintain liberal democracy.

Prioritizing Open and Accountable Government

Critical to safeguarding democracy is prioritizing the fight for honest and open government.

Corruption weakens trust in governments, undermines democracy and threatens the sustainable participation of everyone to build stronger communities and a safer world. That is why USAID has been elevating and prioritizing countering corruption.

In line with these efforts, in December 2022 USAID released its first Anti-Corruption Policy, establishing concrete commitments for implementation and solidifying USAID’s emphasis on preventing the diversion of particularly large sums of public funds through transnational corruption, grand corruption, and kleptocracy while underscoring the need to build new partnerships to take on these contemporary corruption threats. These forms of corruption normalize and institutionalize the abuse of power, creating a vicious cycle in which officials at all levels act with impunity, and inflict the most damage on development and democratic governance.

Seizing Critical Opportunities to Support Democratic Reformers

In countries experiencing democratic openings — where elected representatives, civil society leaders, and everyday people are empowered and committed to pursuing reforms — USAID is surging attention and resources. We aim to be nimble, mobilizing rapid support that is responsive to emerging local needs and helping reformers show concrete results.

Through our Democracy Delivers Initiative, we are partnering with leaders in government, business, and philanthropy to mobilize resources and tangibly demonstrate the benefits of political and economic reforms — everything from job creation to improved health care and public services. The initiative is currently supporting Armenia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Malawi, Maldives, Moldova, Nepal, Tanzania, and Zambia.

For example, in the Dominican Republic, we’re exploring ways to help women entrepreneurs access microloans to launch or strengthen their businesses. Making capital and opportunity more accessible to all is just one example of how democracies can deliver stronger livelihoods.

At the United Nations General Assembly this year — in light of the one-year anniversary of the Democracy Delivers initiative — USAID Administrator Samantha Power will once again convene heads of state, alongside U.S. government, philanthropic, and private-sector leaders to announce additional support for countries pursuing democratic reform and addressing the issues that matter most to their people.

By building support for those countries doing the difficult work of creating stronger, more resilient, and more responsive democracies, USAID seeks to mobilize broad coalitions to show everyday citizens that democracy does deliver for them in their daily lives.

About the Author

Jessica Benton Cooney is the Senior Communications and Outreach Specialist for USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance.