The German political foundations have traditionally escaped serious scholarly analysis. This might have been because, until recently, of the absence of comparable organizations in other Western democracies. A more important obstacle, however, has been the high degree of circumspection defining the ethos of these very public organizations, which made “hard” information difficult to obtain. Of the two impediments, lack of attention has been displaced by a heightened admiration for the foundations' singular qualities and efficacy, spawning imitations in a growing number of countries. When President Ronald Reagan called for the establishment of a National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in 1982, he had the German foundations (Stiftungen) in mind. More recently, the British, Canadians, Swedes, and Dutch have modeled their foundations on the German example. Others, including the Japanese, may follow suit.

The attractions of political foundations are twofold: First, they fit well into an increasingly complex international environment in which relations have proliferated not only horizontally but also vertically. The state is one among many actors; the national level competes with or complements individual, local, and regional initiatives. Second, the impressive track record of German political foundations has outlasted the Cold War. They constitute one of the more interesting transnational actors because they operate independently from the German government yet enjoy a special entree to elites and opposition in many parts of the world precisely because of their linkage to the German parties. This singular status has proven to be particularly effective during the transition from a bipolar to a more fluid post–Cold War environment. In many ways, the German political foundations prefigure the organizational modus operandi of the new age of globalization.