Bilingual politics is on the increase due to a variety of factors including: high levels of migration resulting from globalisation; a resurgence of national interests; fast changing demographics in key markets such as the U.S.
Large scale migration across borders has resulted in 191 million people living outside their home countries worldwide. In countries like Spain, where more than 1 million people from the UK (English speaking) reside, local politics in highly populated regions such as the Costa del Sol are undertaken in both Spanish and English.
In many eastern European countries that previously formed the Soviet Union, biliongual politics has emerged due to a split between the older generations of Russian speakers and younger voters who use the national language.
In the U.S., the growing proportion of hispanic and Spanish speakers means that politics is frequently conducted in English AND partly in Spanish.
In the UK, devolution has led to the creation of local Parliaments for Wales & Scotland. In Wales, in particular, bilingual politics is the norm within the Parliament.
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