Social Democracy

The Friedrich Ebert Foundation advocates for social democracy worldwide. The following applies everywhere: people should be able to help shape their societies and politics and work out compromises together in order to resolve conflicts peacefully. International dialogue and political advice are central instruments in our promotion of democracy.

As the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, we are committed to a strong, social democracy that enables participation and free development for all people and guarantees social cohesion. Such a social democracy must also create the material and practical conditions so that all people, regardless of their social situation, can represent their interests and take part in political life.

In our work in over 100 countries, we support partners from unions, civil society, parties, and science in their pursuit of democratic, socio-political emancipation and in the development of sustainable, democratic solutions to social problems - because they are experts in local contexts and perspectives.

Despite Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999 and despite the first peaceful handover from one democratically elected Government to another after the presidential elections in 2015, the country’s young democracy still faces tremendous challenges.

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Nigeria aims to contribute to a change of the democratic culture by increasing the efficiency and encouraging cooperation as regards the democratic institutions and processes in the country. We support the transformation of democratic institutions by building capacity, supporting research, and furthering exchange of experiences.

Also, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung through its projects supports the collaborative work of important stakeholders in the democratic process, through alliance building. Together with our partner organisations and the alliances we support, we set the agenda for political topical issues, and we support targeted knowledge exchanges in order to provide much needed information to the public. This approach facilitates responsible citizens to be part of the political opinion-forming processes and to increase their political participation, thereby strengthening democracies and reducing risks to stability. For Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, better-informed citizens, and a vocal and collaborative civil society spaces are prerequisites to bridge the deep divide between governmental action/inactions and the citizens.

For Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, it is only if the citizens’ participation in governance and credible electoral procedures are guaranteed, and if they actively demand accountability and transparency from the political elite, can the legitimacy and the credibility of the democratic institutions be restored. This is our theory of change.