About IFES

“America's support for

human rights and democracy is our noblest export to the

world.”

~William J. Bennett

“Democracy shows not only its power in reforming governments, but in

regenerating a race of men—and this is the greatest blessing of free

governments.”

~Andrew Jackson

“Two cheers for Democracy:

one because it admits variety

and two because it permits criticism.”

~Edward Morgan Forester

“Suffrage is the pivotal right.”

~Susan B. Anthony

“The work of you and your staff has helped secure IFES’ reputation as one

of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) most reliable

and productive partners.”

~Sally Shelton-Colby

“Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every

man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of

tolerance in the entire population.”

~Albert Einstein

“The only cure for the

ills of democracy

is more democracy”

~Jane Addams

“In the state of nature...all men are born equal, but they cannot

continue in this equality. Society makes them lose it, and they recover it only by the protection of the law.”

~Charles de Montesquieu

“I want to thank you for the important

contribution you made to the

success of the September 14 elections in

Bosnia as OSCE Director General

of Elections.”

~Bill Clinton to IFES Vice President Jeff

Fischer

“To give up the task of reforming society is to give up one's responsibility as a

free man.”

~Alan Paton

“ … recent IFES briefings on the Capitol Hill have contributed to a

better understanding of the political and social climate of the countries

in which we are working.”

~ J. Brian Atwood

"No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a

democracy. Rather, both are processes

that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off

from its youth severs its lifeline.“

~Kofi Annan

“In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and

freedom are more than just ideals to be valued – they may be essential to

survival.”

~Noam Chomsky

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to

make mistakes.”

~Mahatma Gandhi

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way

that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

~Nelson Mandela

“Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game.

Free speech is life itself.”

~Salman Rushdie

“Liberty is the right to choose. Freedom is the result of

the right choice.”

~Anonymous

“If liberty and equality, as is thought by some are chiefly to

be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all

persons alike share in the government to the utmost.”

~Aristotle

“Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better.”

~Albert Camus

“F. Clifton White is a genuine pioneer in the technologization of

the democratic art.”

~William F. Buckley, Jr.

“The ballot is stronger than the bullet”

~Abraham Lincoln

“The well-being of democracies regardless of their type and status is

dependent on one small technical detail: the right to vote.

Everything else is secondary.”

~José Ortega y Gasset

“The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any

government.”

~Thomas Jefferson