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The '''National Endowment for Democracy''' ('''NED''') is a [[US]] government agency that was founded in 1983 with the stated goal of promoting democracy abroad.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last=Lowe|first=David|date=|title=History - Idea to Reality: NED at 30|url=http://www.ned.org/about/history|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=National Endowment for Democracy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Richmond|first=Yale|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OL8ujZrl89YC&pg=PA161|title=Practicing Public Diplomacy: A Cold War Odyssey|date=|publisher=Berghahn Books|year=2008|isbn=978-0-85745-013-5|location=|pages=161|language=en|quote="NED was founded at the initiative of a small group of Washington insiders, who believed that the United States needed a "quango" (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization) to promote democracy and counter communist influence abroad..."}}</ref><ref name=kitigawa>{{Cite journal|last=Otsuru-Kitagawa|first=Chieko|date=1998|title=The Role of QUANGO in American Democratic Assistance|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/kokusaiseiji1957/1998/119/1998_119_127/_article|journal=International Relations|volume=|issue=119|pages=127-141|eissn=1883-9916|via=}}</ref> In practice, it tries to stifle socialism and movements opposed to US [[imperialism]] abroad. It was created by Congress in 1983 on condition that the [[CIA]] not be involved in it, but at the last minute the CIA director, William Casey, changed the bill to allow such.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200611114824/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/29/us/project-democracy-takes-wing.html PROJECT DEMOCRACY TAKES WING]</ref> Allen Weinstein, who helped draft the legislation establishing the NED, declared in 1991: “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200723111655/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/innocence-abroad-the-new-world-of-spyless-coups/92bb989a-de6e-4bb8-99b9-462c76b59a16/ INNOCENCE ABROAD: THE NEW WORLD OF SPYLESS COUPS]</ref>
[[File:NED logo.png|thumb|347x347px|Logo of the National Endowment for Democracy.]]
The '''National Endowment for Democracy''' ('''NED''') is a front organization of the [[United States]] government that was founded in 1983 with the stated goal of promoting "democracy" abroad.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last=Lowe|first=David|date=|title=History - Idea to Reality: NED at 30|url=http://www.ned.org/about/history|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=National Endowment for Democracy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Richmond|first=Yale|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OL8ujZrl89YC&pg=PA161|title=Practicing Public Diplomacy: A Cold War Odyssey|date=|publisher=Berghahn Books|year=2008|isbn=978-0-85745-013-5|location=|pages=161|language=en|quote="NED was founded at the initiative of a small group of Washington insiders, who believed that the United States needed a "quango" (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization) to promote democracy and counter communist influence abroad..."}}</ref><ref name=kitigawa>{{Cite journal|last=Otsuru-Kitagawa|first=Chieko|date=1998|title=The Role of QUANGO in American Democratic Assistance|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/kokusaiseiji1957/1998/119/1998_119_127/_article|journal=International Relations|volume=|issue=119|pages=127–141|eissn=1883-9916|via=}}</ref> In practice, it works to stifle [[socialism]] and movements opposed to [[US imperialism]] abroad. It was created by Congress in 1983 on condition that the [[CIA]] not be involved in it, but at the last minute CIA director William Casey intervened to get this provision removed.<ref>{{cite web | last=Marcetic | first=Branko | title=Don’t Mourn “Democracy Promotion” | website=Jacobin | date=7 Mar 2018 | url=https://jacobin.com/2018/03/trump-national-endowment-democracy-foreign-policy | access-date=26 Jul 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Project Democracy Takes Wing | website=The New York Times | date=29 May 1984 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/29/us/project-democracy-takes-wing.html | last=Franklin|first=Ben A.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611114824/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/29/us/project-democracy-takes-wing.html | archive-date=11 Jun 2020 | url-status=live | ref={{sfnref | The New York Times | 1984}} | access-date=26 Jul 2023}}</ref> Allen Weinstein, who helped draft the legislation establishing the NED, declared in 1991: “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”<ref>{{cite web |last=Ignatius|first=David| title=Innocence Abroad: The New World of Spyless Coups| website=Washington Post | date=22 Sep 1991 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/innocence-abroad-the-new-world-of-spyless-coups/92bb989a-de6e-4bb8-99b9-462c76b59a16/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723111655/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/innocence-abroad-the-new-world-of-spyless-coups/92bb989a-de6e-4bb8-99b9-462c76b59a16/ | archive-date=23 Jul 2020 | url-status=live | ref={{sfnref | Washington Post | 1991}} | access-date=26 Jul 2023}}</ref>


To start, the NED funded the PRODEMCA (Project for Democracy in Central America), a group which supported the right-wing rebel group [[Contras]] against the socialist Sandinista government in Nicaragua.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191116141444/https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=YNX3GBda5cMC&lpg=PA115&ots=X_5BtU1SB-&dq=ned%20prodemca&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q=ned%20prodemca&f=false ''Human Rights in Nicaragua: 1985-1986'', by Aryeh Neier, Jemera Rone, Juan E. Méndez, page 155]</ref> In 1989, it has given further financial support to opponents of the Sandinistas.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200208171133/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-14-mn-251-story.html U.S. Fund Gives $433,000 to Opponents of Costa Rica Leader’s Policies]</ref> The NED also mounted a multi-level campaign to fight the leftist insurgency in the Philippines in the mid-1980s, funding a host of private organizations, including unions and the media.<ref>San Francisco Examiner, July 21, 1985, p.1</ref> At the beginning of the 2000s, the NED supported opposition groups against Hugo Chávez that led to a failed coup in Venezuela in 2002.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170314110808/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/25/international/americas/us-bankrolling-is-under-scrutiny-for-ties-to-chvez.html U.S. Bankrolling Is Under Scrutiny for Ties to Chávez Ouster]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200305164202/https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/our-gang-venezuela/ Our Gang in Venezuela?]</ref> The organization was also very active in Ukraine in the lead-up to the overthrow of its government in 2013.<ref>[https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2014-08-18/why-ukraine-crisis-west-s-fault Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault]</ref>
To start, the NED funded the PRODEMCA (Project for Democracy in Central America), a group which supported the right-wing rebel group [[Contras]] against the socialist [[Sandinista National Liberation Front|Sandinista]] government in [[Republic of Nicaragua|Nicaragua]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191116141444/https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=YNX3GBda5cMC&lpg=PA115&ots=X_5BtU1SB-&dq=ned%20prodemca&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q=ned%20prodemca&f=false ''Human Rights in Nicaragua: 1985-1986'', by Aryeh Neier, Jemera Rone, Juan E. Méndez, page 155]</ref> In 1989, it provided further financial support to opponents of the Sandinistas.<ref>{{cite web | last=McManus | first=Doyle | title=U.S. Fund Gives $433,000 to Opponents of Costa Rica Leader's Policies | website=Los Angeles Times | date=14 Oct 1989 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-14-mn-251-story.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208171133/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-14-mn-251-story.html | archive-date=8 Feb 2020 | url-status=live | access-date=26 Jul 2023}}</ref> The NED also mounted a multi-level campaign to fight the leftist insurgency in the Philippines in the mid-1980s, funding a host of private organizations, including [[labor union]]s and the media.<ref>''San Francisco Examiner'', July 21, 1985, p.1.{{cn|reason=Link?}}</ref> At the beginning of the 2000s, the NED supported opposition groups against [[Hugo Chávez]] that led to a failed coup in [[Venezuela]] in 2002.<ref>{{cite web | last=Marquis | first=Christopher | title=U.S. Bankrolling Is Under Scrutiny for Ties to Chávez Ouster | website=The New York Times | date=25 Apr 2002 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/25/international/americas/us-bankrolling-is-under-scrutiny-for-ties-to-chvez.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314110808/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/25/international/americas/us-bankrolling-is-under-scrutiny-for-ties-to-chvez.html | archive-date=14 Mar 2017 | url-status=live | access-date=26 Jul 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Corn | first=David | title=Our Gang in Venezuela? | website=The Nation | date=18 Jul 2002 | url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/our-gang-venezuela/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305164202/https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/our-gang-venezuela/ | archive-date=5 Mar 2020 | url-status=live | access-date=26 Jul 2023}}</ref> The organization was also very active in [[Ukraine]] in the lead-up to the [[Maidan Revolution|overthrow of its government in 2013]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Mearsheimer | first=John | title=Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault | website=Foreign Affairs | date=18 Aug 2014 | url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russia-fsu/2014-08-18/why-ukraine-crisis-west-s-fault | access-date=26 Jul 2023}}</ref>


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
*[https://jacobinmag.com/2018/03/trump-national-endowment-democracy-foreign-policy Don’t Mourn “Democracy Promotion”]
*[https://jacobinmag.com/2018/03/trump-national-endowment-democracy-foreign-policy Don’t Mourn “Democracy Promotion”], by Branko Marcetic in ''[[Jacobin (media organization)|Jacobin]]''.


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Deep politics]][[category:CIA]][[category:US imperialism]]

Latest revision as of 15:05, 28 January 2024

Logo of the National Endowment for Democracy.

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a front organization of the United States government that was founded in 1983 with the stated goal of promoting "democracy" abroad.[1][2][3] In practice, it works to stifle socialism and movements opposed to US imperialism abroad. It was created by Congress in 1983 on condition that the CIA not be involved in it, but at the last minute CIA director William Casey intervened to get this provision removed.[4][5] Allen Weinstein, who helped draft the legislation establishing the NED, declared in 1991: “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”[6]

To start, the NED funded the PRODEMCA (Project for Democracy in Central America), a group which supported the right-wing rebel group Contras against the socialist Sandinista government in Nicaragua.[7] In 1989, it provided further financial support to opponents of the Sandinistas.[8] The NED also mounted a multi-level campaign to fight the leftist insurgency in the Philippines in the mid-1980s, funding a host of private organizations, including labor unions and the media.[9] At the beginning of the 2000s, the NED supported opposition groups against Hugo Chávez that led to a failed coup in Venezuela in 2002.[10][11] The organization was also very active in Ukraine in the lead-up to the overthrow of its government in 2013.[12]

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Lowe, David. "History - Idea to Reality: NED at 30". National Endowment for Democracy.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ↑ Richmond, Yale (2008). Practicing Public Diplomacy: A Cold War Odyssey. Berghahn Books. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-85745-013-5. NED was founded at the initiative of a small group of Washington insiders, who believed that the United States needed a "quango" (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization) to promote democracy and counter communist influence abroad...
  3. ↑ Otsuru-Kitagawa, Chieko (1998). "The Role of QUANGO in American Democratic Assistance". International Relations (119): 127–141. eISSN 1883-9916.
  4. ↑ Marcetic, Branko (7 Mar 2018). "Don't Mourn "Democracy Promotion"". Jacobin. Retrieved 26 Jul 2023.
  5. ↑ Franklin, Ben A. (29 May 1984). "Project Democracy Takes Wing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 Jun 2020. Retrieved 26 Jul 2023.
  6. ↑ Ignatius, David (22 Sep 1991). "Innocence Abroad: The New World of Spyless Coups". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 23 Jul 2020. Retrieved 26 Jul 2023.
  7. ↑ Human Rights in Nicaragua: 1985-1986, by Aryeh Neier, Jemera Rone, Juan E. Méndez, page 155
  8. ↑ McManus, Doyle (14 Oct 1989). "U.S. Fund Gives $433,000 to Opponents of Costa Rica Leader's Policies". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 Feb 2020. Retrieved 26 Jul 2023.
  9. ↑ San Francisco Examiner, July 21, 1985, p.1.[citation needed]
  10. ↑ Marquis, Christopher (25 Apr 2002). "U.S. Bankrolling Is Under Scrutiny for Ties to Chávez Ouster". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 Mar 2017. Retrieved 26 Jul 2023.
  11. ↑ Corn, David (18 Jul 2002). "Our Gang in Venezuela?". The Nation. Archived from the original on 5 Mar 2020. Retrieved 26 Jul 2023.
  12. ↑ Mearsheimer, John (18 Aug 2014). "Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West's Fault". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 26 Jul 2023.
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