A deacon and altar boys prepare for Palm Sunday procession at an underground church in China (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
FY2025 Spending by Country | NED Active Grant Listing
A wave of civic mobilizations across Asia has emerged as one of the most dynamic developments for democracy in recent years, pushing back against authoritarianism through people-powered movements, public campaigns, and grassroots civic initiatives. In Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, these movements created the opportunity for a return to electoral politics that reflect the will of the people. In other parts of the region, including Thailand and the Philippines, NED and its Core Institutes are supporting efforts to increase participation in the political process and channel demands for change through democratic means, including elections.
Even under pressure, grassroots leaders demonstrated extraordinary resolve. Through small, strategic grants, NED strengthened local leadership across the region. In Burma and Vietnam, community activists documented abuses and kept civic space alive under severe repression. Chinese and North Korean partners relied upon networks of activists and emerging communication channels to expose state control and expand access to independent information. Meanwhile, think tanks, unions, political movements, and business associations across the region advanced governance reforms amid corruption and economic mismanagement.
China continued to keep an iron grip on politics and freedoms at home while seeking to solidify its growing influence globally. The Chinese Communist Party escalated its repression in Hong Kong, Tibet, and East Turkistan, while exporting its model of digital censorship, transnational repression, and elite capture to neighboring countries and farther abroad. Beijing’s influence increasingly shaped regional information environments, governance norms, and civil society constraints, posing a long-term challenge to democratic values across Asia. In this context, NED-supported partners worked to expose CCP influence, expand independent information channels, and defend civic space.
NED and its Core Institutes supported a wide network of partners across the Indo-Pacific, complemented by regional initiatives that strengthened democratic unity and countered foreign authoritarian influence. Facing shared threats, from digital surveillance to foreign interference, civic actors increasingly collaborated across borders. This growing regional solidarity helped reinforce democratic norms, strengthen digital protections, and sustain civic life at a pivotal moment for the Indo-Pacific.
In the wake of Sri Lanka’s debt crisis, Verité Research brought a groundbreaking “G-Bond” to market—a governance-linked sovereign bond that ties the country’s borrowing costs to concrete improvements in transparency, anti-corruption safeguards, and democratic governance. If the Sri Lankan government meets measurable reform benchmarks, its interest rate is reduced, creating a powerful financial incentive for better governance. This positive-sum model aligns market incentives with democratic outcomes, offering a model that could be scaled to other countries seeking to strengthen governance outcomes through market-based financial products.
When Sheikh Hasina’s government collapsed in 2024 following mass peaceful demonstrations, Bangladesh entered a volatile transition marked by uncertainty and a need for rights-respecting leadership, trusted information, and a roadmap to credible elections. Because NED’s model is built for speed—small grants, trusted networks, and flexible support—our civil society partners were able to respond immediately: monitoring the transition, shaping public debate, assessing economic impacts, and engaging citizens in dialogue about a more open political future.
With rapid response funding, NED supported frontline groups documenting human rights violations, safeguarding forensic data from the student protests, and ensuring independent information reached citizens. Partners convened business leaders, political actors, local organizers, and religious minorities to discuss reforms, strengthen community cohesion, and build consensus around a democratic path forward. Independent media and think tanks provided real-time analysis and evidence-based policy recommendations to domestic and international decision-makers, proposing thoughtful solutions at a critical moment.
At a moment when the country’s direction hung in the balance, NED’s support helped empower Bangladeshi citizens to steer the early phase of democratic renewal. Today, these efforts are laying the groundwork needed to hold free and credible elections in 2026.
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