International Democracy Union


The International Democracy Union is an international alliance of centre-right to right-wing political parties. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the IDU consists of 84 full and associate members from 65 countries. It is chaired by Stephen Harper, former prime minister of Canada. It has three affiliated international organizations and six affiliated regional organizations.
The IDU allows "centre-right" conservative political parties around the world to establish contacts and discuss different views on public policy and related matters. Their stated goal is the promotion of "democracy and centre-right policies around the globe". The IDU has some overlap of member parties with the Centrist Democrat International, but the CDI is more centrist, Christian democrat and communitarian than the IDU.
The group was founded in 1983 as the umbrella organisation for the European Democrat Union, Caribbean Democrat Union, and the Asia Pacific Democrat Union. Created at the instigation of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and U.S. Vice President George H. W. Bush, the organisation was founded at a joint meeting of the EDU and APDU in London, United Kingdom.

Founding

The IDU was founded in London on 24 June 1983. According to Richard V. Allen, to be admitted as a member, a party must qualify as a "mainstream conservative" party influenced by classical liberalism.
The founding declaration was signed by 19 persons:
PersonPartyCountry
Alois MockAustrian People's PartyAustria

History and activities

According to a 1985 CIA memo, the Republican Party and the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan had provided half of all funding for the organization at the time. Several leaders of member parties had gained political power with help from Arthur J. Finkelstein, such as Viktor Orbán, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump. The IDU shares resources with its members on "campaign technology, fund-raising techniques, opinion polling, advertising and campaign organization". The Conservative Party of Canada and the Republican Party had closely collaborated on resources and strategy during the 2000s and 2010s.

Member parties

Full members

Former members

Since 1997, all Chairmen have been part of the Anglosphere.

Regional Unions

In addition to being members of the UDI, political parties can also be members of one of its regional unions: