THE CARTER CENTER IN ATLANTA
At times, searching the web for organisations that work based on the same principles that inspire the Campana dei Caduti Foundation leads to fruitful discoveries. There are in fact realities in the world that organise their activities on the basis of a principle that is still not very popular, that of understanding Peace not as an abstract declaration, but as a daily, measurable, verifiable practice.
When former US President Jimmy Carter founded the Carter Center with his wife Rosalynn in Atlanta in 1982, they did so guided by this conviction. James Earl Carter Jr., known as Jimmy, had just lost the election for a second term in the White House to Ronald Reagan and, as those who have held high office often do, he set to work with more freedom of movement, and less power, on principles that were close to his heart. Regardless of our political view of his performance as president, today it is interesting to examine the structure and results of the Peace Programs initiated by the Carter Center, which, as documented on the organisation’s official website, provide a comprehensive example of non-governmental intervention in conflict prevention and political stabilisation. The centre's action is based on a clear premise that is constantly reiterated in its documents: lasting peace cannot exist without rights, political participation and the rule of law. Thus, since its inception, the Carter Center has chosen to work in contexts marked by fragile transitions, institutional crises or unresolved conflicts, developing programmes that weave together election observation, promotion of civil liberties, access to justice and mediation. According to its official materials, the organisation has worked in more than 75 countries, with a significant presence in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, adapting its tools to profoundly different political, cultural and social contexts.
One of the historical pillars of the Carter Center’s work is international election observation. Since the 1980s, the organisation has helped to define standards that are now widely accepted, monitoring presidential and parliamentary elections and referendums in countries with political tensions or incomplete democratisation processes. This activity, extensively documented on the centre's website and in the reports published over the years, goes beyond the technical verification of voting procedures to include assessments of fair access to political competition, media freedom, and citizens’ ability to express themselves without intimidation. More recently, the Carter Center has extended this work to electronic and digital voting systems, working with the United Nations and other international bodies to develop observation methodologies adapted to new technologies.
Alongside the elections, the centre has increasingly invested in programmes on the rule of law and access to information. The available documentation shows that the Carter Center considers transparency an essential element of conflict prevention: where citizens can access public documents, learn about the decisions of institutions and hold governments to account, the conditions that fuel violence and instability decrease. In several countries, the organisation has supported legislative reforms, trained civil servants and supported civil society organisations committed to defending the right to information.
Another key area of activity focuses on the promotion of human rights, particularly for groups most vulnerable to violence and exclusion.
The Peace Programs include initiatives dedicated to protecting human rights defenders, who are often the target of intimidation or repression, and other aimed at strengthening the role of women and girls in political and social processes. The strategy documents published by the centre emphasise that gender inclusion is not only a matter of equity, but a necessary condition for the stability of post-conflict societies. Inequalities, if ignored, tend to reproduce and re-emerge in the form of new tensions.
In recent years, the Carter Center has openly recognised that the global context in which it operates has changed. The strategic plan of the Peace Programs highlights the increasing prevalence of authoritarian practices, the crisis of confidence in democratic institutions and the impact of disinformation, especially online, on political processes. To meet these challenges, the organisation has forged collaborations with universities and research centres, developing tools for analysing the digital environment and promoting initiatives to counter information manipulation and online hatred, which are considered risk factors for Peace.
A distinguishing feature of the Carter Center, repeatedly referred to in its official materials, is its choice to operate as an independent actor, not tied to governments or specific geopolitical interests. This position allows the organisation to intervene in situations where state diplomacy encounters obvious limitations, offering spaces for informal dialogue or facilitating contacts between conflicting parties. The history of the centre, also reconstructed through encyclopaedic sources and public reports, shows how this 'civil society diplomacy' has made it possible to keep channels open even at times of great international tension.
Another consistent feature of the Carter Center’s approach is collaboration with local partners. The strategic documents insist on the need to strengthen competencies and capacities already present in the countries where the Center operates, avoiding top-down interventions. The stated objective is to build sustainable processes that endure beyond the conclusion of international missions, equipping communities with practical tools to manage conflicts, monitor institutions, and defend their rights.
All in all, the activity of the Carter Center's Peace Programs paints a picture of an organisation that has deliberately stepped out of the spotlight, prioritising continuity and the careful assessment of results. In the vision conveyed by the official documents, Peace is neither a spectacular event nor a one-off agreement, but a gradual process built on rules, participation, and trust. In an international system marked by recurring crises and growing scepticism towards multilateral institutions, the Carter Center continues to propose a practice of Peace based on data, observation and rights, claiming the role of civil society as a political actor in its own right. Just as on the Miravalle Pass, work is being done every day to ensure that nothing is taken for granted in the construction of a peaceful, or at least less conflictual, future.
Jimmy Carter during the 1992 Carter Center convention in Las Vegas
