Emerging democracies: rising to the challenge

Over the last three decades, an astonishing political transformation has taken place. Today, most countries are considered formal democracies - though many of these are democratic in form rather than in substance, and beset by hollow, weak and ineffective political institutions. Furthermore, even if democracy has become the norm, democratisation processes have not been simple or smooth.

Yet, however imperfect, these emerging democracies are here to stay. The question should not be so much wheher they can deliver but how they can do so. In this briefing paper, Alina Rocha,Menocal, outlines the challenge of engaging with emerging democracies and sets out how the international community can give better support, enbaling countries to improve the well-being of their populations and leave no-one behind.