Governance & Rule of Law
In the Balkans, the Trump Administration’s criticism of USAID has inspired “misleading information about USAID money and its recipients.” Pro-government media in the Balkans labeled local organizations that received USAID funds as “criminals who had laundered money through projects whose only goal was to destabilize countries and meddle in elections.”
Balkan Insight, 03/31/2025
Without U.S. funding for countries in Africa, which received “about a quarter of USAID’s budget,” there is room for other powers, like China and Russia, to step in and fill the gap. “Both Russia and China have been expanding their influence across Africa — home to vital raw materials, vast tracts of agricultural land and a booming population.”
Washington Post, 03/24/2025
A program “monitoring forced labor among China’s Uyghur community and holding the government accountable when cases of abuse were identified” was terminated.
Devex, 02/28/2025
More than 40 election monitoring programs conducted by the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening, a coalition group of the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, have been terminated.
Devex, 02/12/2025
More than 40 election monitoring programs conducted by the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening, a coalition group of the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, have been terminated.
Devex, 02/12/2025
DataCameroon, a public interest media outlet based in Cameroon, has suspended several projects, including one focused on journalist safety and another covering the upcoming presidential election.
RSF, 01/2025
“Journalists worldwide have received notifications that grants they intended to apply for have been suspended, and in some cases, funding for ongoing projects and fellowships has been abruptly halted.” It is unclear where the “$268 million to supporting “independent media and free flow of information” will go.
Devex, 03/03/2025
In Russia, U.S. grants to election monitoring groups, including those that documented extensive voting irregularities during the 2011 parliamentary elections, have been frozen. Anger about those violations led to the biggest protests to date against Mr. Putin’s rule and galvanized a broader opposition movement.
The New York Times, 02/05/2025
In Iran, nonprofits and civil society organizations supporting human rights and civil liberties and monitoring abuses have been forced to lay off workers and suspend programs.
Washington Post, 03/07/2025
In Ukraine, where 9 out of 10 outlets rely on subsidies and USAID is the primary donor, several local media suspended their activities, creating openings for Russian propaganda.
The Washington Post, 02/05/2025
An exiled Iranian media outlet suspended collaboration with its staff for three months and slash salaries to a bare minimum, potentially silencing some of the last remaining free voices and creating a vacuum for Iranian state propaganda.
RSF, 01/2025