New fellowship aims to foster, support democracy abroad

By Lisa Trei

Policymakers, academics, journalists, trade unionists and leaders from non-governmental and business organizations in countries in transition are invited to apply for a new summer fellowship sponsored by Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

As many as 30 mid-career people involved in promoting development and democracy will be selected to participate in the new annual program, which will be held on campus Aug. 1-19. Applicants will be selected mainly from the Middle East, northern and sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan, Central Asia and other parts of the former Soviet Union, said Kathryn Stoner-Weiss, associate director of research at the center. Stanford will cover the costs of the program for some of the fellows.

While traditional programs focus either on democratization, economic development or the rule of law, the new effort will seek to find the critical points where these areas connect. And instead of seeking to transfer ready-made models that promote democracy, the program will aim to give a comparative perspective on what has worked and why. "The goal of the center is to promote effective governance," Stoner-Weiss said. "We don't want to make democracy ourselves, but help states that have been through some trauma. This will help confront one of the great foreign policy challenges of our time in terms of creating better governments."

The program will feature lectures by faculty and scholars whose research focuses on democratic advancement, economic growth, the rule of law and human rights. Fellows will be expected to share their own experiences and ideas with the faculty and each other. "These will be people we think are going to become leaders in their own countries," Stoner-Weiss said. "We hope that over time they will form a network where they can share common problems, such as corruption, and solve them together instead of listening to us."

Applications must be postmarked by March 15, or sent by e-mail or fax by April 1. Decisions will be announced by April 30. For more information and application materials, go to http://cddrl.stanford.edu and click on "Stanford Summer Fellows on Democracy and Development."

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