International Republican Institute

The International Republican Insitute (IRI) is one of the components of the National Endowment for Democracy by which it seeks to influence political outcomes and civic society in lesser developed countries around the world. Its efforts are to channel politics and civic society to promote a neoliberal economic and political model; NED/IRI also engage in activities previously performed by the CIA. IRI is mainly funded by U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Endowment for Democracy. IRI is loosely affiliated to the Republican party – which doesn’t provide any of its funding.

IRI's stated mission is to "support the growth of political and economic freedom, good governance and human rights around the world by educating people, parties and governments on the values and practices of democracy." However, it has also been linked to efforts to foment a violent military coup in Haiti. Max Blumenthal reports that Stanley Lucas is the program officer for the IRI's Haiti program.

IRI is based in Washington, D.C., and it maintains offices around the world, including:

Africa

 * Angola
 * Kenya
 * Nigeria
 * Somaliland
 * South Africa
 * South Sudan
 * Zimbabwe

Asia

 * Dili, East Timor
 * Jakarta, Indonesia
 * Phnom Phen, Cambodia
 * Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Latin America

 * Bolivia
 * Cuba
 * Colombia
 * Ecuador
 * Honduras
 * Mexico
 * Nicaragua
 * Venezuela
 * Guatamala
 * Peru

Middle East & North Africa

 * Afghanistan
 * Cairo, Egypt
 * Arab League
 * Oman
 * UAE
 * Iraq
 * Jordan
 * Libya
 * Pakistan
 * Tunisia
 * Israeli Occupied Territories

Central and Eastern Europe

 * Belgrade, Serbia
 * Bratislava, Slovakia
 * Bucharest, Romania
 * Istanbul, Turkey
 * Skopje, Macedonia
 * Sofia, Bulgaria
 * Tirana Albania
 * Zagreb, Croatia

Former Soviet Union

 * Azerbaijan
 * Belarus
 * Georgia
 * Kazakhstan
 * Kyrgyz Republic
 * Moldova
 * Russia
 * Ukraine

IRI in Egypt
On 29 December 2011, Egyptian authorities invaded the offices of various NGOs seeking to transform the political and civil society structure in the country, i.e., IRI, National Democratic Institute, Freedom House, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory. All these groups are funded directly or indirectly by the US and German governments. IRI's press release on the incident reveals that IRI has been active in Egypt since 2005. IRI's account of its activities in the country are:
 * IRI works with Egyptian activists to strengthen their knowledge of political party development, campaign strategy and public opinion research. IRI also provides civil society groups with trainings on how to hold municipal councils accountable.

IRI Principals
IRI Board of Directors and Personnel includes major Republican foreign policy voices, and other prominent Republicans.

Contracts with Republican political advocacy firms
"'In December 2004, IRI contracted with Tony Marsh and Lance Copsey of the media consulting firm Marsh, Copsey & Scott to set up a Baghdad Media Center on behalf of the U.S. State Department. Its stated purpose was to assist Iraqi political parties and candidates in the upcoming January elections,' reported Muriel Kane in June 2006."

Contact information

 * 1225 Eye Street, NW, Suite 700
 * Washington DC 20005
 * Phone: (202) 408-9450
 * Email: info AT iri.org
 * Web: www.iri.org

SourceWatch resources

 * Imperial terror in South America
 * Reporters Without Borders
 * Marsh, Copsey & Scott

Articles and other resources

 * International Republican Institute profile, NNDB.
 * Right Web Profile
 * Philip Agee, "Former CIA Agent Tells How U.S. Infiltrates Civil Society to Overthrow Governments," Information Clearing House, August 3, 2003.
 * "Tentacles of the International Republican Institute," People's Weekly World, March 13, 2004.
 * Andrew Wells-Dang, "When Democracy Promotion Turns Partisan: IRI in Cambodia," Right Web, April 5, 2004, viewed April 15, 2004.
 * Max Blumenthal, contibutor to Salon.com, authored an investigative piece that examines the role of the United States in destabilizing the democratically-elected government of Haiti's Jean Bertrand-Aristide through the International Republican Institute, a federally-funded, nonprofit political group backed by powerful Republicans close to the Bush administration.
 * Lisa Ashkenaz Croke and Brian Dominick, "Controversial U.S. Groups Operate Behind Scenes on Iraq Vote," The New Standard, December 13, 2004.
 * Ian Traynor, US Campaign Behind the Turmoil in Kiev, November 26, 2004 The Guardian, Friday November 26, 2004.
 * Mike McIntire, "Democracy Group Gives Donors Access to McCain," New York Times, 28 July 2008.
 * Mark Weisbrot, International Republican Institute Not “Promoting Democracy”, The Guardian, 31 January 2012.
 * Richard Falk, When an 'NGO' is not an NGO: Twists and turns under Egyptian skies, Aljazeera, 21 February 2012.