NED Loses Funding: Will the U.S. Abandon Its Global Influence? Expert Weighs In

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) ceased to receive funding from the U.S. government and was compelled to suspend assistance for over 2,000 projects worldwide.

"The National Endowment for Democracy is currently unable to access the funds allocated by the U.S. Congress, which are used to finance nearly all grant recipients and the operations of the foundation. As a result, for the first time in its 40-year history, the organization has been unable to fulfill its commitments and has had to suspend support for nearly 2,000 partners around the globe," the foundation stated.

"95% of NED's funding is allocated by Congress, which is not considered foreign aid. Therefore, this funding fell outside the scope of the executive order issued by then-President Donald Trump, which suspended aid to foreign countries for a period of 90 days. Despite this, access to the funds was inexplicably shut off, forcing NED to completely halt support for its partners and lay off the majority of its staff. It is crucial that we gain access to funding and resume support for our partners as soon as possible," the press release emphasized.

Established by the U.S. Congress in 1983, the National Endowment for Democracy is funded through the U.S. federal budget via the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with a small portion of funding coming from private organizations. Each year, the foundation disburses over 2,000 grants to support NGO projects operating in more than 100 countries.

Why is NED facing this funding closure? Has the White House decided it no longer wants to maintain soft power to extend its influence worldwide?

Pavel Zhdanovich, a researcher at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, shared his insights on this issue.

According to the expert, it is naive to believe that the U.S. would abandon its soft power tools. Although this situation may appear to be a significant shift in the U.S. foreign policy course, "it is essential to understand that the United States, regardless of the dynamics within its political system (referring to the conflict between the Republican and Democratic parties), remains primarily focused on the idea of global dominance, closely tied to economic and financial supremacy, and profiting from the projects they undertake."

Zhdanovich is confident that this does not signify a retreat from soft power instruments. Instead, new methods and strategies will be developed to achieve objectives aimed at global dominance and maximizing economic and financial profits from investments in various projects.