Parties in 87 Democracies Use Multiple Languages

Why this is here: Parties operating in majoritarian electoral systems were more likely to adopt multilingual communication than parties in proportional representation systems, challenging conventional expectations about minority inclusion.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis analyzed over 4 million Facebook posts from 800 political parties in 87 democracies—including the United States—from 2016 to 2022.

They developed a new way to classify parties by how they use language online. This dataset offers a detailed look at multilingualism among political parties worldwide, revealing when and how they communicate with voters in multiple languages.

The study shows parties are more likely to use multiple languages in countries with high linguistic diversity, aligning with a strategy to gain more votes. Surprisingly, parties in majoritarian electoral systems—where winning requires broad support—showed more multilingualism than those in proportional representation systems. Left-leaning parties consistently demonstrated a greater tendency towards multilingual communication.

The research did not examine how language use changes during elections or major events. Further study could explore these dynamics and examine U.S. data at the district level to test the framework’s predictions. The team continues to explore the rich dataset.