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She may not have had the power to stop the brutality of the Burmese regime against peaceful demonstrators, but Shari Villarosa, chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon, ensured that the world, as well as the citizens of Burma, was aware of the injustices against pro-democracy demonstrators in late August and September. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice notes Villarosa’s efforts at a ceremony December 10 at the State Department in Washington, where Villarosa was named runner-up for the first Diplomacy for Freedom Award. The award honors U.S. diplomats for outstanding efforts to advance human dignity, end tyranny and promote democracy.

U.S. embassies around the world organized 16 days of activities focused on the problem of violence against women to draw a symbolic link between the International Day Against Violence Against Women -- November 25 -- and International Human Rights Day -- December 10. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in her directive to all U.S. embassies, called for engagement with host country governments, civil society and media.

Young Americans are paying attention to the 2008 presidential race, and many are ready to help their preferred candidate achieve victory, a poll by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics shows. Young Americans share many of the concerns of those in other generations, with the war in Iraq and health care as their top concerns, the poll indicates.

Alexis de Tocqueville, France’s 19th-century observer of the United States, the modern world’s first democratic experiment, warned that democracy ultimately could lead to the tyranny of the majority. However, nearly two centuries later, democracy and the concept of majority rule have become powerful notions for which every nation on earth strives -- at least in word if not deed.

Barely a month before important state party caucuses begin in the new year, Democrats from around the United States converged near Washington for the Democratic National Committee fall general session -- the last such meeting of Democrats before early caucuses signal who the likely Democratic and Republican 2008 presidential nominees will be. Candidates courted a diverse set of voters at the session, giving speeches and meeting privately with delegates. “Here we are in a suburb of Washington, and a man or a woman who just worked the day shift can come in and listen to, perhaps, the next president of the United States. … Everyone in America can get involved, whether Republican or Democrat,” one participant tells USINFO.

With the first presidential nominating contests less than a month away, candidates in both parties are stepping up their attacks on opponents. The dynamics of the primary system drive candidates to appeal to the most aggressive voters, says Pietro Nivola, director of the Governance Studies Program at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "The result is when the chips are down, the races are getting tight as they are now … it's just simply too tempting to go on the attack," he says. USINFO talks with several election watchers about the changes happening in the campaign.

Many analysts are expressing surprise over the rejection of a referendum on a series of constitutional changes that were designed to increase Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s authority over his country, his first electoral defeat since assuming power in 1998. The setback to Chavez’s ambitions is not the first time a government has seen its quest for expanded authority defeated via referendum.

Although Americans feel politically divided today, this polarization is not necessarily a bad thing, political experts say. "There's no question that the partisan polarity between the Democrats and Republicans these days … runs deeper, certainly, than it did a generation ago," says Pietro Nivola, director of the Governance Studies Program at the Brookings Institution in Washington. However, "[n]ot everything about political polarization is a bad thing."

A new network of about 100 former government officials, academics and members of nongovernmental organizations aims to help Latin American and Caribbean nations deal with issues related to promoting and defending democracy in the region. The Democracy Practitioners Network will advise governments in the Americas on such subjects as electoral and constitutional reform, access to justice, good governance, citizen participation, transparency and efforts to combat corruption.

A fresh team of Supreme Court justices appointed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2006 is determined to build up the professionalism of the country’s judiciary, which has suffered from Afghanistan’s 30 years of war, destruction and instability. "We are working on how to upgrade the knowledge of our citizens … and identify who can stay and continue" as judges, as well as those who should be removed, Afghan Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi tells USINFO.

To win primary elections in the United States, presidential candidates must convince members of their own political parties that they share the party’s political views. This means that during the nomination season, Democrats are discussing issues that matter to liberal voters, while Republicans are focusing on the topics that conservatives care about.

Palestinians traditionally value education as the way forward, so it is not surprising that the West Bank has dozens of articulate, home-grown advocacy groups. But even the most seasoned civic activists constantly seek new strategies to communicate their message. Recently, the U.S. Consulate General invited an experienced U.S. activist to work with local advocacy groups on communicating their message through the media as part of the United States’ continuing support for democratic development in the Palestinian Territories.

While young Americans often are criticized for not voting, many are showing that young people can be political leaders despite their age. USINFO talks with a 26-year-old congressional candidate and two young mayors about their experiences. Young people "are the future of your country," 20-year-old Mayor Michael Sessions of Hillsdale, Michigan, tells his contemporaries. "So you need to start shaping it now and get involved somehow." Sessions was elected to lead his town of 8,200 while still in high school.

The world is benefiting from the expansion of democracy and stands to gain even more through greater stability as democracy and development spread in the future, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte tells delegates to the Community of Democracies ministerial forum in Bamako, Mali. "Advancing these principles is not only morally right; it is a strategic and practical interest for us all," he says.

Emergency rule in Pakistan is undermining years of successful reforms, says Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf November 16-17 to underline U.S. concerns about a key regional ally. "Emergency rule is not compatible with free, fair, and credible elections, which require the active participation of political parties, civil society and the media," Negroponte says in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Volunteerism continues to be crucial to a functioning democracy, American authors Susan Ellis and Katherine Campbell say in their book By the People. Civic voluntary activity long has been a noteworthy aspect of American society. Volunteers helped shape the nation and continue to contribute to its prosperity. The more citizens involve themselves as volunteers, "the closer they come to making the ideals of democracy real," the authors, who are experts in volunteerism, say.

Legendary American Indian novelist N. Scott Momaday, realist artist Andrew Wyeth, novelist and critic Cynthia Ozick, masterful musician and instrument designer Les Paul, and Yiddish literature scholar Ruth Wisse are among the 18 individuals and two organizations honored this year by the National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medal at a White House ceremony. President Bush points to “the great strength and diversity of American culture,” as he hails the arts honorees for having created “some of the emblematic images of our time, supported museums and theaters and helped nurture young talent.”

Improving social conditions is seen as a key for Guatemala’s new president, Álvaro Colom, to combat crime and insecurity in his Central American nation. Failure to solve current problems could pave the way for a successful presidential run in the 2011 election by his defeated rival in this year’s election, Otto Pérez Molina. USINFO interviews three area specialists on Guatemala’s political scene and the challenges facing the newly elected president.

Ferial Masry became involved in politics when her son was deployed to Iraq in the beginning of the war. In 2004, she became more involved in the Democratic Party, and one month before that year’s primary election, the party recruited her to run. Today, as Masry, who believes she is the first Saudi-born woman to run for office, prepares for her third attempt to win a California Assembly seat, she tells USINFO, "I can run and run because I feel like you teach people that you have to really fight for democracy ... we have to fight for the process."

Public opinion polling has become ubiquitous in American life. Estimates are that, for the 2008 election cycle, more than 500 state and national polls actively are surveying the American public, whether about the presidential race ("If the election were held today, who would you vote for?") or about views on issues ranging from Iraq and the environment to immigration and taxes.