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In recent months, support has continued to grow for the International Centre for Democratic Transition (ICDT)—also referred to on this site by the name used in CCD's older proposals, the Democracy (or Democratic) Transition Center. Hungary has taken the lead on this proposal with U.S. support, and contacts are being initiated with other European nations. CCD received a grant to help support a conference, or "round table," to develop a plan for the centre that was presented to the Community of Democracies Ministerial meeting in Santiago in May of 2005. (CCD's supporting proposal for such a centre can be found here.)

On 26 September 2005 the first meeting of the Board of the Foundation, consisting of high-profile Hungarian politicians, took place in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After a press conference announcing the creation of the International Centre for Democratic Transition (ICDT) to the world at large, the Centre officially started operation.

What is the International Centre for Democratic Transition? The International Centre for Democratic Transition is based on the premise that, first of all, democracies make safer, more stable, and reliable neighbors; and, secondly, that democratic governance is beneficial to a country's own population. In joining with the ICDT, participating democracies commit themselves to lending support to fragile democracies and encouraging democratic activists in non-democratic states. Any member of the more than 100 democracies in the Community of Democracies - especially those willing to share the lessons of their own transition from authoritarianism to democracy - are welcome to lend a hand, by way of the ICDT, to nations and peoples working toward democracy.  

“I am proud to announce that an
International Centre for Democratic Transition has been set up in Budapest. The Centre will promote research and offer assistance for those who seek advice. It will be an open and international institution...”

Hungarian President László Sólyom, 2005 World Summit of the United Nations, New York City, September 14, 2005

What are the origins of the ICDT?

In March of 2005, CCD President Dick Rowson and Hungarian Ambassador Istvan Gyarmati co-chaired an international conference in Budapest at which a plan for a Centre was developed and approved. Within a few short weeks, the Plan was presented and endorsed by the Third Community of Democracies Biennial Ministerial Conference, convened in Santiago, Chile in April of the same year. During this conference, it was announced that the Hungarian government would be providing the Centre with funds and office space to begin its valuable work.

What is the ICDT doing today?

  • Iraqi Constitution. ICDT facilitated the participation of Central and Eastern European constitutional law experts in the process of drafting the Iraqi constitution.
  • World Database of Democratic Transitions. ICDT started to conduct a series of deep interviews with those who were involved in the democratic transitions worldwide.
    Several hundred interviews will be recorded and analyzed.

...And in the future?

  • Backing Municipal Development in the Western Balkans. The project aims at sharing the experiences of Central and Eastern European municipal governments with their
    counterparts in the Balkans.
  • Implementing the Experience of the Visegrad Cooperation in the Western Balkans. The project’s goal is to find the key factors which contributed to the success of the
    Visegrad cooperation. Afterwards, the project will identify the common ground on which countries of the Western Balkans could come together to build a joint platform and achieve a successful cooperation in the international area.
  • Assisting in Formulating the Government Program for the Haitian Opposition. Upon the request of a Haitian NGO, ICDT plans to assist in formulating a government program for the Haitian opposition.
  • Moving Towards a More Pluralistic Society in Belarus. The ICDT plans to assist in creating a more pluralistic society by strengthening civil society, implementing various individual and societal initiatives, and through institution-building throughout the state.
  • Collecting best practices of elections and exploring their usability in Asian countries. ICDT plans to collect the different practices of elections worldwide and explore whether they could be applicable in Asian countries.

For further information on the International Centre for Democratic Transition, feel free to peruse the materials below:

All the Latest:

  • U.S. Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, Paula Dobriansky, spoke at a dinner conference in Budapest on 2 November 2005, honoring the Centre. Remarks at Opening of International Center for Democratic Transition
  • Santiago Secretariat Reports Progress on the Establishment of an International Centre for Democratic Transition:
    • Hungary has taken the lead on the ICDT proposal with U.S. support, and contacts are being initiated with other European nations. CCD has received a grant to help support a conference to develop a plan for the Centre to be presented to the Community of Democracies Ministerial meeting in Santiago, May 2005.
  • For more information on the ICDT, please see the Centre's newsletter, or for specific information requests, email info@icdt.hu .

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