“The Business of Democracies that Deliver: Reflections on CIPE’s 25th Anniversary”

This year, the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) celebrates the 25th anniversary of its founding. CIPE was created in 1983 and is one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the history of CIPE, the successes and challenges over the years, and – most importantly – what lies ahead and why CIPE’s work is more important today than ever before.

CIPE was founded on the idea that economic freedom and political freedom are inextricably intertwined. This idea, that progress comes through a combination of political and economic reforms, has gained weight over the years and is becoming more widely recognized. In this Feature Service article, John D. Sullivan, CIPE’s Executive Director, talks about a brief history of the democracy programs, the continued need to build market-oriented democracies, as well as CIPE’s role, business model, and key themes of its work. He also looks ahead to the challenges and opportunities for democratic and market-oriented reform around the world.

Article at a Glance

• Democratic governance and market economy share the same underlying values of transparency, accountability, fairness, and responsibility.

• A functioning market economy requires a complex institutional framework put in place by a political process that establishes the rules of the economic game through laws and regulations.

• The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) can now showcase 25 years of strengthening democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reform.