As the number of democratic nations has grown by leaps and bounds worldwide, there has never been a greater premium on effective campaign and political communications practices. Not surprisingly, the world typically turns to the United States for best practices in the inter-related worlds of political campaigning, communicating, and marketing. This is a direct result of the US's role as the first modern democratic republic, and its centuries long history in these fields. Having enjoyed a substantial head start on the rest of the world's democracies, the United States offers an invaluable resource for nascent democratic nations to examine. By studying the lessons that American political parties have learned concerning the best methods for organizing campaigns, reaching out to voters, and mobilizing political bases, political parties in developing democracies can more efficiently organize their actions to maximize their impact on the electorate.
While there are many lessons that can be learned from the American model, it is important to realize that the cultural, social, and economic reality of the United States are not equaled by many states in the world. When attempting to draw conclusions about campaigning and communicating with the public from the American model, it is important to understand how one's society relates to the United States. This is especially true in the developing world. South Africa, for example, features a vastly different socio-economic and political reality than the United States. This paper will be organized into three main sections. First, we will explore the political party organization, taking particular care to examine political communication as it takes place within a political party. Second, we will review the most efficient ways to communicate a party's platform to the electorate. Without an efficient campaign organization in place to disseminate it, the best message in the world will be ...