HDP Goes Virtual, Continues Global Engagement

By Derek Luyten, HDP Executive Director; Nils Mueller, HDP Senior Development Advisor

Just a few short months ago, not many could have predicted the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic would upend our daily lives here in the United States and across the globe. It's challenged governments to respond, to innovate, and unfortunately, from the democracy and governance perspective, has also opened the door for authoritarian and semi-authoritarian regimes to exploit the crisis to consolidate power. Countries like Russia, Iran, Hungary, and the Philippines have strengthened executive power, and scores more have sought to quell dissent, increase citizen surveillance, and push through policies that benefit autocrats.

Most democratic countries around the world, however, are seeking to balance individual liberties with what's best for society. That means finding new ways of continuing basic governance responsibilities and adjusting to physical distancing requirements by moving services online.

In this unprecedented modern global crisis, governments around the world are crafting responses on an ad-hoc basis. It becomes ever more urgent to support parliaments in their critical governance roles. The challenge, of course, is how to enable members of parliaments to engage with one another in a context where elected representatives are not even able to meet in person to conduct normal legislative business, let alone liaise with counterparts abroad.

The House Democracy Partnership, or HDP, is helping to fill this critical gap. As a bipartisan, twenty-member commission of the U.S. House of Representatives chaired by Congressman David Price (D-NC) and co-Chaired by Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL), HDP works directly with more than 20 countries around the world to support the development of effective, independent, and responsive legislative institutions. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a near halt in congressional foreign engagement due to the virus, HDP has quickly adapted to enable our Members of Congress to engage with their peers virtually.

Working closely with the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), HDP is organizing virtual workshops that connect our Members of Congress and senior staff with Members of Parliament (MPs) abroad. The focus of the discussions is the legislative response and measures taken to stop the global pandemic, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between the executive and legislative branches, the essential oversight role that legislatures have vis-à-vis the executive branch, and the continuing of constituent engagement to inform that oversight.

Thus far, HDP has organized a series of virtual workshops for senior members of Tunisia's National Assembly, and plan to soon hold additional online engagements with MPs from Armenia, Georgia, Kosovo, Ukraine, Colombia, Ecuador, and Guatemala.

During these uncertain times and with strong incentives in place for increased nationalism and an inward focus, we need greater interaction and diplomacy with our friends and allies abroad to share experiences, obstacles, and best practices. HDP has and will continue to serve as an essential link between the U.S. Congress and foreign parliaments around the world, and serves today as one of the only mechanisms for congressional diplomacy. It is with this kind of enhanced partnership between representative bodies that we can push back on pandemic authoritarianism and maintain the critical leadership role that the U.S. plays in our global community.