Closing Space for International Democracy and Human Rights Support

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Abstract
After seeing its reach increase for decades, international support for democracy and human rights faces a serious challenge: more and more governments are erecting legal and logistical barriers to democracy and rights programmes, publicly vilifying international aid groups and their local partners, and harassing such groups or expelling them altogether. Despite the significant implications of the pushback, this phenomenon remains poorly understood and responses to it are often weak. This article examines the scope of the pushback phenomenon, its impact on funders and their partners, its causes, and the responses to date. The article finds that international responses remain relatively weak due to a number of divisions within the democracy and rights community, and structural features of the international political system.

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