The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization with the mandate to promote and advance democracy worldwide. Our vision is a world in which democratic processes, actors and institutions are inclusive and accountable and deliver sustainable development to all.

Our mission is to advance democracy worldwide, as a universal human aspiration and an enabler of sustainable development, through support to the building, strengthening and safeguarding of democratic political institutions and processes at all levels.
 

International IDEA advances its mission by providing analysis of global and regional democratic trends; producing comparative knowledge of good international democratic practices; offering technical assistance and capacity-building on democratic reform to actors engaged in democratic processes; and convening dialogue on issues relevant to the public debate on democracy and democracy building.

To achieve our mission, International IDEA contributes to the public debate on democracy and assists in strengthening processes, reforms, institutions and actors that build, advance and safeguard democracy, with a focus on three impact areas: electoral processes; constitution-building processes; and political participation and representation. The themes of gender and inclusion, conflict sensitivity and sustainable development are mainstreamed across all our areas of work.
 

International IDEA works worldwide. Its headquarters are based in Stockholm and it has regional and country offices in Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. International IDEA is a Permanent Observer to the United Nations.