Electoral Cooperation Across Borders?: Political Internationals and Electoral Coordination

By Kieran Grundfast, Elections

An often neglected aspect of political parties is their broader participation in transnational political organizations, referred to as political internationals. A political international is a transnational organization comprising parties with a common ideology or political outlook (Wood 2015). These organizations serve as forums where political parties can share experiences, electoral strategies, and policy ideas. Some organize training and workshops for party activists and operatives to learn from each other to better their electoral performance. The first political internationals formed in the 19th century. These organizations were standard among the political left and what were then newly formed socialist and communist political parties in Europe. Since then, these organizations have expanded in popularity to encompass various ideologies, especially after the Second World War and the beginning of the ideologically charged Cold War. Why do political parties join these organizations, and how do they assist member parties electorally? Ultimately,  The primary benefit and way these organizations serve to benefit their members electorally is by providing a discussion forum in which parties can exchange information and strategies, while the more resource-intensive tasks are, naturally, handled by the member parties themselves.

     Political internationals can provide various resources and avenues for parties to coordinate with other members and enhance their electoral performance. Straightforwardly, political internationals serve as forums for electoral strategy sharing. Parties learn from each other’s successes and failures in campaign organization and voter outreach (IDU 2024; Progressive International 2024). Political internationals may also set up training programs, where the organization offers workshops and training sessions to educate party operatives on effective messaging and campaigning strategies. An example is the Sao Paulo Forum, a forum for left-leaning political parties in Latin America, which organizes political training schools where party operatives and strategists learn from each other. This forum was also crucial for convincing member groups that electoral competition was the best means for achieving power, given that it originally included several armed groups (Caldero 2022). The International Democracy Union, a center-right political international formed during the Cold War, provides a similar forum for exchanging messaging and electoral strategies. However, unlike the Sao Paulo Forum, it does not organize training programs for the member parties (IDU 2024).

     Political internationals also support member parties by helping to ensure the validity and security of the elections in which member parties participate. For example, Progressive International, which brings together left-leaning political parties, activists, and pressure groups, established its electoral observatory to support member parties where democratic processes are either not consolidated or deteriorating (Progressive International 2024). They help aligned groups develop messaging strategies to promote their message and combat disinformation (ibid.). Like the Sao Paulo Forum, this organization also organizes informational and training workshops for activists and individuals from member organizations to help them build the relevant human capital and expertise needed to compete in elections successfully (ibid.).

     It should be noted that not all political internationals engage in the same level of cooperation. The activities of those with high levels of coordination, such as the Sao Paulo Forum and the Progressive International, still do not outweigh each member party’s efforts on their behalf electorally (Day 2006). This is because political parties ultimately have limited resources. It is only rational that they would focus on their own electoral needs first (ibid.). Indeed, unlike other international organizations, no current political international places resource obligations upon its members. Therefore, their coordination and cooperation in elections is entirely voluntary.

     Political internationals formed out of a desire for transnational cooperation among like-minded parties and the firm international ideological tensions that underpinned the Cold War. Political parties join these organizations to advocate for shared beliefs and capture the benefits of having a forum of similar organizations to learn from. Political internationals allow political parties worldwide to share electoral and messaging strategies, organize and participate in training programs and workshops to enhance the expertise of their political staff and operatives, assist member parties with electoral observation and security, and generally share resources. Ultimately, however, these organizations have a minor impact on the outcome of any given election, and the actual resources organized and invested by these organizations into helping members electorally are dwarfed by the same of any single member party.      

References

IDU. 2018. “History | International Democracy Union.” https://www.idu.org/about/history/.

Caldero, Rocco. 2022. “Lula Da Silva Says São Paulo Forum Was Created to Moderate the Left.” The Rio Times. https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/brazil/lula-da-silva-says-sao-paulo-forum-was-created-to-moderate-the-left/.

Progressive International. “Observatory | Progressive International.” https://progressive.international/observatory/

Wood, Tim. 2015. “Reinforcing Participatory Governance through International Human Rights Obligations of Political Parties.” Harvard Human Rights Journal 28: 147–204. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/hhrj28&i=151 (November 12, 2024).

Day, Stephen. 2006. “Transnational Party Political Actors: The Difficulties of Seeking a Role and Significance.” EU Studies in Japan 2006 (26): 63-83. doi:10.5135/eusj1997.2006.63.