What is an ally? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, an ally can be understood in two ways. It can mean a sovereign or state associated with another by treaty or league, such as America and its allies, where the Allies were the nations that fought together against Germany in World War I or World War II. It can also mean someone associated with another person as a helper: a person or group that provides assistance and support in an ongoing effort, activity, or struggle. Allies can help in several ways: by increasing our numbers, by sharing skills and knowledge that we lack, and by offering good advice.
Here are several ways allies are relevant to civics:
During Elections: Mobilizing all of your candidate’s supporters is often not enough to win. You need to find ways to gain voters from the undecided and even from the opposition. Doing so is hard work. It is made easier when you can partner with community organizations and networks that already have strong relationships with the voters you need to reach.
Between Elections: If you are working with the local, state, or federal government on some issue, it is easier to catch their attention and respect when you have help from other organizations that know the problem well, share your goals, and are already respected by the relevant officials.
While Serving as a Lawmaker: In this era of gridlock, it is almost impossible to get anything substantial done without allies from the other party, from political leaders outside the legislature, and even from donors. Bipartisanship can help overcome procedural barriers and narrow majorities. Bipartisanship is easier to justify when groups of organized voters and donors from all sides are pushing for cooperative problem-solving within the legislature.
While Serving as an Executive: Even dictators depend on allies. Authoritarian rulers risk losing power if they fail to satisfy their military leaders, security services, and powerful economic elites. Without support from their own bureaucracies, orders may be ignored, quietly undermined, or reshaped for personal advantage. Democratic leaders—such as presidents, governors, and mayors—depend on allies even more, as they must navigate larger populations, religious and ethnic groups, trade groups, independent legislatures, and complex bureaucracies. Yet all of those people also form an enormous pool of potential talent and knowledge to draw upon.
Between Nations: It is easier to defend our freedom and our economy from our enemies when we have allies. The very existence of the United States can be traced to the alliances our nation’s founders forged with France and Spain. Our alliances with our Western European partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) helped us contain the spread of communist control during the Cold War. Our NATO partners stepped up for us when we were attacked by al-Qaeda in 2001. Moreover, economic and security alliances reinforce each other. For example, the United States actively encouraged economic cooperation and trade between Germany and France (and among other Western European countries) as part of its post-World War II policy to stabilize Europe. It was a way to prevent economic nationalism and future conflict and to contain the spread of communism by fostering prosperity and cooperation. Alliances have also driven our economic success. Much of our economic growth of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries flowed from open markets and economic cooperation in Western Europe and parts of Asia—systems the United States helped support and sustain alongside its partners. And, of course, coming full circle, the wealthier our partners are, the more they can devote to our collective defense.
One more thought: Be practical. Purity tests – whatever your ideology or goal – will cut you off from a lot of good, useful help. Here are some real-life examples:
- The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), commonly known as McCain-Feingold, was sponsored by an alliance between Republican Senator John McCain, a self-styled reformer, and Democratic Senator Russell Feingold. This bipartisan cooperation was essential against significant opposition.
- George W. Bush allied with Ted Kennedy to make progress on education reform.
- Republicans and Democratic hunters, anglers, and farmers have successfully collaborated on large-scale conservation efforts for public lands.
- Former enemies can become the best of allies: the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Japan all stood with the United States throughout the Cold War and beyond.
United we stand, divided we fall.
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