Andrew Friedman

Director and Senior Fellow, Human Rights Initiative
Andrew Friedman

Andrew Friedman is director and senior fellow in the Human Rights Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Andrew came to CSIS from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he served as a democracy officer with USAID’s Bureau for Africa, providing technical and strategic guidance for democracy, rights, and governance work across the region. He also co-led USAID's Executive Committee on the 2021 Summit for Democracy and coordinated the anti-corruption session of the Civil Society Forum at the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit. While with USAID, Andrew joined CSIS's Africa Policy Accelerator, where he also served as a board member. Prior to his time in government, he served as a legal and democratic governance consultant working with various UN agencies, including the Secretariat, UN Women, and multiple UN Development Program Country Offices on constitutional and legal reform, good governance, transitional justice, and human rights. He also occasionally teaches courses in international law, serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Law. He is also a member and contributor to both the International Academy of Constitutional Law and the African Network for Constitutional Lawyers, and he was recognized with an Amicus Mundi award from We The Action for pro bono work assisting in the passage of laws expanding the rights of sexual assault survivors in U.S. states.

Programs & Projects

Areas of Expertise

In the News

All Andrew Friedman Content

Filter by

1 - 10 of 36 results

A New Landscape for Development: Examining Impacts, Capabilities, and Opportunities

Cuts to foreign assistance have been among the most sweeping changes of the second Trump administration. This compendium dives deep into the impacts on fields across the development ecosystem and potential opportunities within this new landscape.

Digital Report by Hadeil Ali, Andrew Friedman, Noam Unger, J. Stephen Morrison, Katherine E. Bliss, Romina Bandura, Caitlin Welsh, David Michel, Rose Parker, and Joely Virzi — November 13, 2025

A New Landscape for Development: Recommendations

Cuts to foreign assistance have been among the most sweeping changes of the second Trump administration. These recommendations provide guidance on how the U.S. can engage meaningfully and productively in the world despite the significant changes.

Digital Report by Noam Unger, Andrew Friedman, and Hadeil Ali — November 13, 2025

A New Landscape for Development: The Ground Has Shifted

Cuts to foreign assistance have been among the most sweeping changes of the second Trump administration. This digital report examines the context, current state, and early impacts of these dramatic changes and opportunities within this new landscape.

Digital Report by Noam Unger, Andrew Friedman, and Hadeil Ali — November 13, 2025

A New Landscape for Development

Cuts to foreign assistance have been among the most sweeping changes of the second Trump administration. This compendium dives deep into the impacts on fields across the development ecosystem and potential opportunities within this new landscape.

Digital Report by Enoh T. Ebong, Noam Unger, Andrew Friedman, and Hadeil Ali — November 13, 2025

Audio Briefs

Shifting Power: The Next Phase of U.S. Foreign Assistance

An audio version of ⁠“Shifting Power: The Next Phase of U.S. Foreign Assistance⁠,” a new Commentary by CSIS’s Hadeil Ali and Andrew Friedman. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Hadeil Ali and Andrew Friedman — October 14, 2025

Audio Briefs