In every region of the world, public opinion polls show widespread support for democracy as the best form a government. People want the ability to participate in government and public affairs and to choose their political leaders. They also want to benefit from accountability in government, respect for human rights and equality of treatment. To be successful and maintain popular support, however, democracies must also produce visible improvements in citizens’ quality of life, a key factor in preventing autocratic regimes and anti-system movements from gaining ground. In democratic systems, final authority lies with the people. Political parties are one of the primary avenues through which citizens can exercise that authority and participate in political life. When citizens join political parties, donate money or time, help to shape party policies, or stand for office under a party ticket, they are exercising some of the basic rights that are part and parcel of democracy. Democracy is more likely to develop and endure when all segments of a society are free to participate and influence political outcomes without suffering bias or reprisal. How political parties define, engage and mobilize their constituents has implications for the extent to which citizens feel included in public affairs, represented by political leaders, and able to hold their leaders to account. Political parties contribute to democratic governance by aggregating and representing the interests of their constituents. They play that role through certain key functions. Parties propose policies that are representative of their members. They campaign on those policies and strive to implement them when in power. When in opposition, parties help hold governments accountable by contributing to oversight of the executive and critiquing or presenting alternatives to ruling party policy proposals. This competition of ideas encourages each party to refine its own proposals and seek common ground with others; it can also result in better outcomes for the public. Thus, parties provide citizens with a space to express their policy preferences, opportunities to influence the direction of their government, and a means to hold that government accountable at election time. Moreover, how parties formulate and seek to advance their policy proposals has implications for the extent to which governments are able to improve public welfare. In healthy multiparty systems, there is sufficient party competition to allow the electorate a meaningful choice: too many parties may cause the political landscape to be fragmented and unstable, whereas too few may lead to a highly polarized political environment. Parties in vibrant democratic systems embrace civil competition but are also capable of the debate, dialogue and compromise required for government to function.1 While civic groups have key roles to play in developing and sustaining democracy, vibrant political parties are equally necessary. Civil society without effective parties and political institutions creates a void, giving opportunities to demagogues and extremists who undermine democratic governance. While there are parties without democracy, there can be no democracy without political parties. Parties in many countries may be flawed, but they are also indispensable in democratic governance. For more than 30 years, NDI has worked with democratic parties in over 80 countries around the world to create more open political environments in which citizens can actively participate in the democratic process. The Institute shares tools, strategies and techniques that parties can use to develop stronger connections to the public, mount competitive electoral campaigns, and perform more effectively in the legislature. The Institute’s multi-partisan programs seek 1. Peter Burnell, Building Better Democracies: