Zohran Mamdani’s Internationalism Is Not an Afterthought

As the dust settles on the New York City mayoral election, the international impact of Zohran Mamdani's victory is becoming clear: Mamdani didn't just win the race; it redefined the meaning of local politics in the global city.

New York is not only the headquarters of international diplomacy, home to vibrant migrant communities and a major tourism hub. Through its municipal partnerships, growing cultural production, and financial sector, New York also has a huge impact on the world—and not always for good.

Throughout his political career in New York, Mamdani has both celebrated and questioned his city's global influence. As a member of the New York State Assembly, he presented legislation banning New York City-based nonprofits from funding the occupation of Palestine, and the addition of South Asian New York City Council members to denounce visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In his campaign for mayor, Mamdani tried to focus on the pocket issues that united his broad coalition. But international solidarity played a crucial, if quieter, throughline in the campaign. He mobilized immigrant communities in the five boroughs in their native languages, including Urdu, SpanishAnd Arab. In his victory speech on election night, he addressed them directly: “I'm talking about Yemeni bodega owners and Mexican abuelas, Senegalese taxi drivers and Uzbek nurses, Trinidadian line cooks and Ethiopian aunties, yes, aunties.”

The new Mamdani administration now has an opportunity to turn sentiment into effective policy and transform New York's Office of International Affairs into an instrument of international solidarity—at a time when the Trump White House is intensifying its assault on migrant rights, international law, and the multilateral system more broadly.

New York has a rich tradition of municipal internationalism. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, for example, understood that the city's international role was both moral and material. LaGuardia was born to Jewish and Italian immigrant parents. interpreter for newcomers to Ellis Island, where he worked in Italian, Yiddish, German and Croatian. In Congress, before becoming mayor, he against the radical anti-immigrant policies of the 1924 Immigration Act and its “fixed obsession with Anglo-Saxon superiority”.

After being elected mayor, La Guardia used his office to denounce the rise of fascist movements in the 1930s and defend democracy at home. He recorded regular messages in Italian in support of the anti-fascist guerrilla uprising for radio broadcasts throughout Italy in 1942–44 and personally led brutal attacks on “that swine Hitler” in anti-Nazi rallies out of tens of thousands in New York. “To be against Hitler is to be for the German people,” La Guardia said in a pre-war speech in 1934, calling for a boycott of German goods. “To be against Hitler is to be for world peace. To be against Hitler is to not allow conditions that civilization will not accept.”

Half a century later, Mayor David Dinkins revived the tradition. Under his leadership, New York became a crucial hub in the global movement against South African apartheid. At Dinkins's direction, the city sold over $500 million from companies doing business in South Africa and even established incentives for financial institutions that pressured the South African government to implement anti-apartheid reforms.

Dinkins also used the symbolic power of internationalism to build a common front with emerging progressive leaders in South Africa and Haiti, just as he fought to make racial justice tangible in Harlem and Brooklyn. In 1992 Dinkins rallied25,000 New Yorkers, mostly of Caribbean descent, gathered in Central Park in support of the Rev. Jean-Bétrand Aristide, the popular former Haitian president and liberation theologian who was overthrown in a right-wing military coup. Dinkins also posted Nelson Mandela after his release from prison and then toured South Africa at Mandela's personal invitation. “People say I've come a long way from home” Dinkins said upon arrival in South Africa: “And it's true: I've come a long way. But today I'm finally home.”

The Mamdani administration may also look to foreign cities for inspiration for a revamped and strengthened Office of International Relations. For example, under Mayor Ada Colau, Barcelona retooled its Department of International Relations to translate City of Rights values ​​into international policy. He has developed partnerships in the areas of affordable housing, feminist politics and participatory democracy, sharing experiences with European, Latin American and African cities and suspended its official relations with Tel Aviv due to Israel's systematic human rights violations.

Mamdani can learn from these examples not only to make a principled point about international solidarity, but also to advance his core accessibility agenda. For example, by building bridges to the new Twin Cities, New York can find concrete solutions to its acute cost of living crisis: social housing from Veincommunity grocery store models in Greenland or Sri Lankaor bold plans to limit car traffic and support active transport from Paris.

The current constellation of Twin Cities reflects decades of ad-hoc decision-making, missed opportunities, and outdated priorities. Cities such as Jerusalem in Israel are still considered close allies, while natural partners with large migrant populations such as Mexico City, Kingston or Quito remain at arm's length. These relationships can be assessed and, if necessary, restructured to align with the administration's agenda on behalf of all New Yorkers.

Even Mayor Eric Adams acknowledged the possibility. During his tenure, New York expanded its sister city agreements to include Bridgetown, Barbados, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Now Mamdani can go even further. With Mexico City, New York could forge concrete policy exchanges around its universal pension program, comprehensive community-based public safety, and expanded public housing. With Toronto, Canada's economic powerhouse, progressive Mayor Olivia Chow is building thousands of new rent-controlled and off-market homes, introducing free breakfast and lunch programs for schoolchildren and investing hundreds of millions of dollars in public transit.

However, the Sister Cities program is just one of the tools available to the New York City Office of International Affairs to build effective solidarity with the wider world. The office currently operates a Young Ambassadors program to train students in diplomatic practice; Mamdani could expand the program to support international exchanges that train a new generation of solidarity activists. New York City has more consulates than any U.S. city outside Washington, D.C.; The Mamdani administration could use its consulate liaison program as a means of coordinating policies or advocating for migrants' rights.

But to achieve this, international affairs cannot be dismissed as just an afterthought. Too often, international portfolios are given as consolation prizes to scorned political allies—or worse, as in the case of outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, they can become permeable conduits for special interests from abroad to advance.

With a more measured approach to New York's Office of International Affairs—and the right plan of action to run it—Mamdani could turn the page on the corruption of the Adams administration, confront the brutality of the Trump White House, and transform New York from a playground for the global elite into a center of genuine solidarity with all working people.

The world is already awaiting Mamdani's leadership. If he empowers his Office of Global Affairs to act with purpose—to align solidarity with the needs of New Yorkers—he can once again transform the cause of global justice into a practice of local governance.