Engaged Research

The Center for Asian Democracy brings research expertise to public debates related to the future of democracy in the region. This engaged scholarship ranges from convening policy experts on the national and international stage to local engaged partnerships with members of our Louisville community.

Religion and Electoral Institutions in Asia

In 2023, CAD partnered with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and the United States Institute of Peace for a multi-stage engagement between researchers, practitioners and policymakers focused on the impact of religion on electoral institutions, with a particular focus on Asian cases. The project culminated in the publication, with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, of a practitioner white paper entitled, “Sacred Ballots: Engaging with Religious Actors in the Electoral Cycle.” CAD looks forward to continuing this engagement.

As a first step, in Spring 2023, CAD, IFES and USIP convened a first-of-its-kind practitioner-researcher workshop on the topic. How could religious dynamics threaten electoral integrity or contribute to democratic backsliding? And how might engaging religious actors strengthen institutions and foster democratic resilience?

Workshop participants included representatives from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carter Center, Catholic Relief Services, Georgetown University, Harvard University, IFES, IREX, the International Republican Institute, the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities, Lipscomb University, the National Democratic Institute, Open Society Foundations, the United Nations Development Program and Electoral Affairs Division, the United States Department of State, USAID, the Wilson Center, the World Faiths Development Dialogue, and the University of Denver.

Building on the successful April workshop, CAD leadership returned to the United States Institute of Peace in June 2023 for a public launch of a white paper on the topic, coauthored with experts from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. The launch event began with comments from Rosarie "Ro" Tucci, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Bureau of Development, Democracy, and Innovation at USAID.

This white paper aims to provide practical guidance to the electoral support community—election management bodies (EMBs), other interested government institutions, and NGOs—to better (1) assess the range of ways in which religious actors shape the electoral cycle and (2) respond appropriately to religious dynamics in electoral planning.

Whether a source of exclusion or a force for democratic resilience, religion has potent electoral effects across much of Asia. CAD plans to continue this partnership with USIP and IFES, drawing on the white paper's framework to guide next steps.