The purpose of this review of political party assistance in Latin America is to track the evolution of international assistance to political parties and party systems, to identify changing patterns in the nature of the interventions, and to advance a tentative assessment of whether the different approaches and methods of donor support contribute constructively to the development of political parties in the region. The report forms part of a larger research project into international assistance to political parties, funded by DFID and FCO. <br />
The report summarises first the nature of regional trends in political party and party system development from a historical perspective, and signals contemporary challenges for parties in the context of the third wave of democratisation. The second section reviews the main actors involved in party and party system assistance. The third section examines some of the ongoing challenges for the international community, and signals lessons learned identified as relevant for the current debates on political party support. The final section presents an analysis of the challenges of measuring impact in party and party system support, and develops some recommendations from the lessons learned.