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Elements for a Dialogue on Global Political Party Formations
About the project
In April 2004, NIGD (Network Institute for Global Democratization)
associates started discussions around the theme of a global political party.
A quick round of consultation among our colleagues revealed that some, at
least Heikki Patomäki, Vijay Pratap and Teivo Teivainen, had at some point
given thought to the concept of a global political party in their works. A
virtual visit to the library disclosed that in general, surprisingly little
has been written – academic or otherwise – on the theme of transnational
association or operation of political parties. We also soon discovered that
it proves important to speak of parties in the plural as opposed to the
singular.
From thought to action, the project Elements for a Dialogue on Global
Political Party Formations kicked off in September 2005. The objective of
the project was to hear views on the idea of global political parties from a
diverse political and social spectrum. The methodology paralleled an earlier
NIGD project, North-South Dialogues, where NIGD invites experts or teams of
experts to write analysis on a certain theme, based on a background paper.
In this current project, the background paper was written by Heikki Patomäki
and Teivo Teivainen, and their article – which has since been updated and
developed – is also included in this Working Paper.
In order to facilitate the inclusion of voices outside the world of writing,
NIGD organised four dialogues encouraging discussions on political parties,
democracy and globalisation. The first dialogue took place in Helsinki in
September 2005, a second one followed in New Delhi in November. The third
and fourth dialogues were held in January 2006 in conjunction with the
polycentric World Social Forums in Bamako, Mali and Caracas, Venezuela.3 At
these dialogues, we presented and distributed early and partial drafts of
this working paper.
This Working Paper consists of contributions requested within the frames of
the project. Additionally there are text boxes from the discussions held in
the dialogues and about the international associations of political parties.
We have chosen to include both academic and more practically oriented
contributions to allow diverse ways of expression. The text boxes have been
compiled by the editors.
As a quick reading guide, the introduction summarises the aim and scope of
this project. The busy reader finds the introduction to be a guide to the
more detailed contributions.
With the realisation that the debate on global parties cannot ignore the
debate on the health, the possibilities, and the crisis of existing parties
within their national contexts, we are using the title “Democratic Politics
Globally”. The purpose of this Working Paper is not to discuss the
relationship of the party system to various utopia and dreams for realizing
the goal of deepening democracy globally. Rather, and at this stage, we wish
to contribute to the debates on the proposals for global democratisation
from the concrete context of grassroot to national experience. We hope to
bring the most relevant questions to the table.
As part of this NIGD process, we have issued an accompanying sister Working
Paper, Dialogues on Party Systems and Global Democratisation. It includes
the complete reports from the four dialogues, presentations of the Party
Internationals and selected background documents. It is recommended for
everyone who wants to learn more about the diverse content of the dialogues
or the Internationals. The source for all but the last text box in this book
is from the sister Working Paper.
Another accompanying NIGD volume, Discussion Paper entitled Political
Parties and Global Democratisation: Lessons from the Past and Future
Prospects summarises the new stage of our thinking following the work of the
Working Paper, and defines an agenda for future work and debates. In
addition to the obvious aim of widely disseminating the development of our
thinking on global political parties, the specific focus of the NIGD
Discussion Paper is to spark discussions in and among different and
differing corners, groups and actors around the globe on political parties.
The Working Papers, the Discussion Paper, and additional material on NIGD’s
project on global political parties is available from the project pages
