Democracy assistance organizations have been established worldwide since the beginning of the twentieth century, striving to create a fertile international environment that nurtures the spread of both democracy and human rights. Taiwan is now ready to join this growing community. The establishment of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) marks a milestone in Taiwan's democratization process, while it also inaugurates a new networking channel with the international community.
From the 1980's onwards, many countries worldwide have undergone political transformations from authoritarian or militaristic to democratic rules. By the end of the last century, democratization had spread around the world, and Taiwan too became part of this sweeping change. Now, in this new century, Taiwan proceeds in its quiet but successful revolution, steadily joining the community of democracies. The Centre for the Studies in Democratization at the University of Warwick has established political, economic, and social indexes to evaluate the democratization progress of nations around the world-yet no matter the index, Taiwan continues to excel in these rankings. 
Western nations began establishing democracy assistance foundations in the turbulent political decades of the last century. These democracy foundations have since devoted themselves to strengthening democracies worldwide, and in many cases have collaborated in their efforts to do so. Through the years they have aided nascent democracies by supporting political party competition, encouraging free market mechanisms, strengthening the rule of law, and supporting the development of civil societies.
