Democracy Boot Camp

The strength of democratic institutions is declining worldwide. Three out of four people now live in an autocracy—the highest share since 1978—and autocratic regimes outnumber democratic ones for the first time in more than two decades.

One potential remedy is training programs that aim to bring new pro-democracy voices into politics, according to new research from Professors Ernesto Dal Bó and Frederico Finan, along with collaborators from the University of British Columbia. They studied a Brazilian program that trains citizens who have never held office to become political leaders and found that participants were significantly more likely to run for—and win—municipal elections than those who narrowly missed being admitted to the training program. 

“These interventions can make a difference in terms of the people who end up running for office and the options voters have available,” says Dal Bó.

The program, RenovaBR, chooses participants for commitment to democratic values, diversity, and competence—as measured by tests of current-events knowledge, logical reasoning, and other relevant aptitudes. Admission is competitive: In 2019, some 1,500 people from 445 municipalities were admitted from a pool of 15,000 applicants. 

Participants received training in political communication, campaigning, leadership, and municipal public policy. They attended lectures, took quizzes, completed a final project, and networked with academics, politicians, and potential donors.

More than 30% of trainees ran for office in Brazil’s 2020 municipal elections, compared with 16% of those who almost got accepted as trainees. Participants were also 55% more likely to succeed at the ballot box, with more than 12% of those who ran getting elected, versus 8% of candidates who were nearly selected for RenovaBR. Researchers determined that the program’s screening process accounted for 30% of the increase in candidates running and 43% of the increase in wins. 

One reason for participants’ greater electoral success could be that the curriculum covered fundraising strategies, and the aspiring politicians gained access to potential donors. On average, trainees raised roughly $850 more than candidates who were almost accepted. They were also nearly 10% more likely to receive private donations (though slightly less likely to get financial support from political parties). 

In many other fields, training initiatives often have modest effects that take a long time to materialize. For Dal Bó, the fact that a political training program yielded substantial results in a matter of months is reason for hope. 

“It’s remarkable that a program can take citizens with an interest in politics and help them make the jump to running a campaign and getting into local office,” he says.