Democracy support or democracy assistance includes all activities that help to introduce, strengthen or enhance democracy in a country, usually with the help of an international or foreign organization. The assistance can deal with every aspect of democracy, such as elections, political parties, constitution building, conflict management, gender and minority rights, media and civil society.

Democracy support activities involve three types of direct stakeholders: donors, who fund activities, assistance providers who carry them out and recipients or target groups who receive the assistance. All partners are equally important and assistance activities are normally planned and implemented jointly with all direct stakeholders.

There are many actors in the field, both private and public. One of them is International IDEA, an international organization with 27 member states based in Stockholm. With some 100 staff and an annual budget of around 23 million Euros, International IDEA assists stakeholders around the world by generating and facilitating knowledge, presenting policy options and initiating reforms. International IDEA is the only intergovernmental organization exclusively dedicated to democracy support.