The world is currently experiencing a global wave of democratic erosion, with the number of democratizing countries plummeting to the lowest levels since 1973. Within this context, it’s more important than ever to empower pro-democracy political parties to push back on autocratic candidates and incumbents. Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) funders can be well-positioned to help opposition parties oppose democratic erosion, but what should this support look like?
New IRI research can help answer that question. A recently published evidence briefer distills findings from the academic and programming literature on patterns of democratic erosion, strategies political parties have used to oppose autocratic actors, factors that affect parties’ opportunities to implement these strategies, and existing evidence on how DRG programs can support parties to combat democratic erosion.
Political parties have used several strategies to prevent or slow democratic erosion, and DRG implementers can support parties to implement these strategies. The strategies and opportunities for DRG political party programs are summarized below.
Addressing Citizens’ Grievances
- Description: Pro-democracy parties can develop and communicate policy stances and messages that are responsive to citizens’ needs and priorities. This strategy can help pro-democracy parties win votes and prevent disillusion that might lead citizens to vote for candidates with authoritarian tendencies.
- Opportunities for DRG programs: Gathering and analyzing data on citizens’ preferences (i.e. polling data); supporting political parties to translate citizens’ preferences into party platforms and campaign messaging; creating opportunities for political parties to engage directly with citizens.
Blocking Nominations of Co-partisans
- Description: Ahead of elections, pro-democracy parties can refuse to nominate candidates that, while potentially popular, do not adhere to democratic norms. This strategy can reduce the influence and platforms available to candidates with autocratic intentions.
- Opportunities for DRG programs: Institutionalizing candidate selection processes; supporting reforms to strengthen internal democracy; emphasizing issue-based rather than personality-focused party platforms.
Emphasizing Autocratic Intentions
- Description: Political parties can raise public awareness about the dangers associated with authoritarian-leaning candidates – for example, by unveiling abuses of power, intentions to manipulate elections, or corruption committed by incumbents running for reelection. This strategy can result in the reduction of popular support for autocratic actors and deterrence against further acts to undermine democratic institutions. While implementing this strategy, parties should avoid using polarizing rhetoric that authoritarian-leaning candidates can manipulate to delegitimize efforts to uncover autocratic intentions and corruption as “politically motivated.”
- Opportunities for DRG programs: Monitoring corruption or performance; strengthening internal accountability measures; building capacity for election observation; developing campaign messages highlighting the costs of corruption.
Forming Cross-Party Alliances
- Description: When an erosive incumbent is running for reelection, opposition parties can create electoral alliances or issue key endorsements to mobilize their electorates under a single candidate. This strategy helps pro-democracy parties create a united front and decreases the likelihood of would-be-authoritarian candidates being elected.
- Opportunities for DRG programs: Identifying parties’ shared policy priorities; creating or strengthening existing spaces for dialogue between parties; analyzing polling and electoral data to inform election strategies; coalition building; building party capacity for consensus-building and negotiation.
Avoiding Electoral Boycotts
- Description: While opposition parties may be tempted to boycott elections where the playing field is tilted, this often strengthens the autocratic incumbent and can accelerate erosion. Instead, parties should aim to participate in elections, where safe and feasible, to maintain their representation in government, while also monitoring and documenting electoral misconduct by the incumbent.
- Opportunities for DRG programs: Building party capacity for election observation; encouraging parties to make electoral decisions based on data; supporting partnerships between parties and civil society and media to hold the government accountable.
More details on political parties’ role in combating erosion, other opposition strategies, and factors influencing parties’ ability to implement strategies can be found in the evidence briefer. IRI is building the evidence for how DRG implementers can effectively support political parties to implement strategies to combat democratic erosion. IRI is leading several initiatives to build this evidence and extend the research conducted through the literature review, including an evaluation program focused on how DRG programs can assist political parties to identify and respond to citizens’ grievances.
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