Center for Democracy recordsThe Center for Democracy records include reports, studies, conference proceedings, minutes, correspondence, briefing books, press releases, financial records, printed matter, photographs, videotapes, and sound recordings related to legislative, judicial, and electoral processes in newly democratic countries.
Founded in 1985 by Allen Weinstein, the Center for Democracy was an American private nonprofit foundation for the promotion of institutions of democratic government. As part of its mission, the Center monitored local and national elections in countries such as El Salvador, the Philippines, the Bahamas, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Poland, Guatemala, Russia, and the United States. In addition to election observation, the Center organized and sponsored conferences and training programs related to democratic and legislative issues.
The collection documents a range of the Center's activities, including the organization's role in the annual International Judicial Conference and election monitoring in Nicaragua in 1996. Materials tend to be organized into groups by country, conference, or project title. Of note are the briefing books created for board meetings, which include agendas, correspondence, memoranda, program descriptions, fact sheets, financial documents, and schedules.
