International Organizations: Their Role and Impact on Local Politics

Abstract

This research focuses on the role of local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs and INGOs) in Lebanon’s electoral process. It analyzes their impact on electoral reforms, political participation, and governance. The research highlights how civil society actors have influenced the conduct of elections and voter awareness through an analysis of the involvement of organizations such as the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) and the United Nations Development Programme’s Lebanese Elections Assistance and Parliament Support (UNDP LEAPS). The research will include a historical comparison between the 1992 and 1996 elections, which lacked structured electoral monitoring, and the 2018 and 2022 elections, where NGOs played a role in monitoring the elections, which resulted in increasing participation of women and independent candidates in Lebanon’s political sphere as an example. Through a combination of interviews with key stakeholders and a literature review, this study will explore how NGOs work in Lebanon’s complex sectarian and consociational political system. The research argues that such NGOs and INGOs do not have to directly intervene or pressure electoral reform through institutional pressure as their advocacy work, over time, reaps the resulting changes in voter engagement and electoral transparency. The study also assesses how international organizations influence electoral governance while maintaining neutrality. The findings suggest that despite challenges such as the entrenchment of sectarianism in Lebanon and election law loopholes, NGO-led electoral initiatives have played an important role in increasing political awareness among the Lebanese population.