Their Democracy
16th June 2023
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) used to be one of those gloriously bipartisan institutions where Democrats and Republicans broke bread and shared ideas about how to expand democracy abroad. But like many once-neutral institutions, whether in the media, the universities, or publicly-funded foundations, the NED has become baldly partisan since the 2016 election. In doing so, it has put its mission and its integrity at risk.
Launched by President Reagan 40 years ago “to foster the infrastructure of democracy” around the world, the NED is governed by a bipartisan board. It gives grants to democracy activists overseas, holds events, publishes books and journals, and brings advocates for democracy from around the world to the U.S. on fellowships. It receives fierce criticism from both the anti-American Left and the isolationist Right—a good sign of its bipartisan nature. It is loud and proud about promoting democracy abroad despite the cavils. Its congressionally-approved budget from the Department of State for fiscal year 2022 was $300 million.
But since the election of Donald Trump, NED has repeatedly violated its supposed neutrality on American politics and engaged in openly-partisan advocacy against Trump and Republicans. This is a remarkable intellectual failure for an organization that lectures other countries about accepting the legitimacy of the political opposition, especially one you detest.