The Foreign Service Journal, January 2009

44 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9 cratic practices. These groups often need help developing certain skills and capacities, but they have both the local savvy and the long-term commitment to be the catalysts and the shepherds of positive change in their countries. Embassy engagement in identify- ing partners and opportunities, com- bined with MEPI’s ability to move assistance funds quickly, has proven highly effective in addressing fast-moving situations. In 2005, we responded rapidly to the announcement of elec- tions in Lebanon following the February assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and later that year assisted with preparations for Egypt’s first-ever popular vote for president. For numerous projects, MEPI moved from a concept to a signed grant agreement in four to eight weeks, a turn- around time nearly unheard of in the assistance field. Ac- tivities included public opinion polling, roundtable discussions of electoral issues, public education campaigns promoting participation and extensive domestic election observation. None of these programs was designed to af- fect the results of the elections, but rather to help raise the level of informed debate, confirm election results by inde- pendent observers and, more generally, add to the public sentiment that voters had a stake in the process — in other words, to help build the culture of democratic practice. While having a rapid-response capability is an advan- tage, simply waiting for the next momentous reform op- portunity does not constitute a credible strategy. After examining where MEPI had demonstrated a real value- added during its first three years, we shifted in 2006 to a two-track approach. The first track continues timely and flexible responses to short-term reform opportunities as they arise, often using small grants to local partners to get the ball rolling. The second is a continuous, long-term ef- fort to help build the next generation of reformers, by fund- ing projects by local groups that encourage democratic practices and facilitating focused training and internships in the United States. For example, an early MEPI program for young Arab businesswomen, the Business Internship Program, was judged highly successful in its combination of an intensive academic course (mini-MBA) with a three-month intern- ship at a U.S. business. Employing this model, MEPI has developed new programs as part of our broader effort to strengthen the capacity of reformers in a range of sectors. The New Generation Pro- gram and the Leaders for Democ- racy Fellowship provide training and internships to political activists who have already begun making a mark in their respective fields. And the Women’s Legal and Business Network offers a cadre of profes- sionals the opportunity to work in the U.S. legal and business environment while learning from each other and their American counterparts. In five years, we have supported more than 350 MEPI projects, large and small, worth more than $430 million in 17 countries. Examples where we have provided U.S. ex- pertise to reformers include training female politicians in campaign techniques; bringing hundreds of university stu- dents to the United States for a summer of leadership and civic engagement training; placing short-term experts at central banks to advise on privatization; and embedding media managers in independent newspapers to improve quality and ensure financial sustainability. Examples of projects developed and implemented by local groups include fighting corruption by exposing finan- cial irregularities during major corporations’ stockholder meetings in Egypt; exposing dozens of religious leaders in Yemen to the principles of democracy and documenting how these principles were incorporated into sermons; train- ing hundreds of local democracy activists in communica- tions, civic engagement and negotiation techniques; producing a play in Morocco to teach illiterate women about their rights under the new family code; and engaging teenagers living in a Hezbollah-dominated area of Lebanon in “democracy in action” activities, including volunteerism, advocacy campaigns and media training. And this list only scratches the surface. An Enduring Objective We have spent the first five years of MEPI setting up the necessary bureaucratic structures, conducting outreach on the ground, developing hundreds of programs andman- aging the impact on bilateral relations. But has our ap- proach, including but not limited to MEPI, advanced the objective of democratic reform in the Arab world? I would argue that it has, but only if we accept a realistic view of F O C U S Programs like the Middle East Partnership Initiative are a powerful tool for promoting democratic reform.