On the Margins: Extremist Parties in Democratic Systems (World Politics Review Features)

For instance, in some cases small parties represent an opening up of new political space or of a new political agenda, or they may represent a post-modern, post-materialist form of politics, such as that regularly associated with Green parties.

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Alternatively, parties of the right have emerged, across Europe, with some having evolved from long-established right-wing parties; others being newer parties created as a response to globalism, new international governing institutions or multi-culturalism. Alternatively, smaller parties may thrive on the popular appeal of a charismatic leadership and on its ability to develop policy-platforms that reflect popular—or populist—concerns 5. By contrast, the main parties have been criticised for focusing their activities on office-seeking and holding office.

In recent years, small political parties have considerably increased their representation in British political institutions, particularly, but not exclusively, in local government. In acting as channels of discontent, rather than as simple repositories for protest votes, small parties and independent politicians are able to shine a light on the failures of the main parties in responding to certain political concerns.

Moreover, political cartelisation, where the main parties collude directly or indirectly so as to converge around a set of policies, or become preoccupied with governing or office-seeking activities, has the effect of distancing or even removing major parties from the concerns of civil society.

Small parties however, can of course be ignored or even vilified, such as in the response of the main parties to BNP successes. Stimulating a reaction of any kind from any combination of the mainstream parties can nevertheless be seen as a mark of some success; when the main parties sit-up and take notice it displays the small party's impact on politics, political debate and agenda-setting.

Indeed, small parties may benefit their cause, if not necessarily their electoral growth, by focusing on agenda-setting rather than office-seeking. Second, small parties must satisfy some nationally determined legal framework to secure authorisation as a party. In the case of the UK this authorisation is secured by registering with the Electoral Commission. Third, the party needs to secure representation in some level of representative institution.

In the UK such representation is more often than not more easily secured locally, at the European level, or in one of the devolved institutions, than in the UK Parliament which has a less favourable electoral system than the devolved or European institutions. Finally, small parties must display some relevance , or impact on policy, decisions, or the conduct of politics. Indeed, if small parties can be either the subject of policy poaching by the main parties, or alternatively, simply ignored, they must constantly seek ways to remain politically relevant.

It is the notion of relevance that, as far as small parties are concerned, is contestable. Sartori saw this as a way of counting parties in a parliamentary arena for their coalition, or blackmail potential. Thus, relevance, so constructed, underestimates the impact of small parties in politics, and ignores differing notions of what is politically relevant.

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It particularly ignores differing degrees of relevance displayed by small parties in different levels of government or representative institutions. Herzog challenges Sartori's notion of relevance and shows that small parties and others can have a different form of relevance to that of the major parties in any system.

Herzog notes, for example, that a declaration of standing for election can influence the electoral behaviour of established parties, maybe forcing them to campaign in new ways, or at all, or to focus on different and emerging issues; that authorisation may force a re-evaluation of the social and normative boundaries in a political system; and, that electoral success and increased prominence can expand the ideological boundaries of a political culture and redefine the left—right spectrum, encouraging in the process policy-poaching by the main parties or a refocusing of attention on previously unreflected issues.

Political relevance, thus defined, can be affected by the newness of a party, even if it does lack the organisational capacity to have an impact, particularly at the national level. The degree of relevance the smaller parties have becomes more evident by examining how small parties mobilise political opinion, articulate previously ignored opinions, attract attention from the public, media or other parties, focus on minor or minority interest and integrate core-policy objectives throughout all policy areas.

Yet, a new approach to party relevance is still only part of the picture when assessing the impact of small parties and independents in politics. A further step is to categorise and classify small parties.

Small parties can also be understood by considering the degree to which they oppose the very nature and legitimacy of the political system or political establishment within which they operate. While Sartori 27 considers the effect such parties have as an assessment of anti-systemness, for the small party in the UK, intention provides a better prism through which to understand the relationship between the party and the British political system; as small parties are often far from being able to effect any anti-system change.

Indeed, even when considering parties in multi-levels of government, the UK's unitary system prevents any effective anti-system outcome of political activity, unless a Westminster majority can be secured. Care must however be taken when assessing small parties against the criteria of anti-systemness so as not to confuse such with the normal politics of being a party of opposition: Are the Green Party anti-system because they support non-violent direct action? Is anti-systemness simply a reflection of a perception that some parties just will not play by, or maintain, the rules of the game, e.

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The fortunes of small parties are subject to the vagaries of a range of political opportunity structures which hinder or promote their growth and development: Moreover, analysis of political parties at various levels of politics requires different conceptual approaches. Thus, we are left wondering if it is possible to construct a definition of small party and independent politics which encompasses all levels of governance.

Are definitions of small party and independent politics context-specific in that they must reflect the level of politics in which the party is active; and, how can a party be defined if it controls a council, but has no MPs? Much of our understanding of the small party universe comes from what have tended to be descriptive accounts of particular parties, such as the far-right, or the Greens. Indeed, what is required is a framework to assess and explore the contribution to politics of different types of organisations and independents, which allows us to understand the significance of national, regional and local conditions and issues as motivators to the development of alternatives to the main parties.

Moreover, we need to understand how small parties and independents can generate and capitalise on a critical mass of political discontent or disconnection from the main parties and forge that into a basis for development. These nationally organised parties cross the categories employed by Smith, particularly within the UK context and do so both nationally and locally: The Greens, BNP and Respect form the largest opposition group in Norwich, Barking and Dagenham and Tower Hamlets councils, respectively, and cannot be dismissed as marginal in these contexts.

To secure relevance, in the UK a small party must conform—locally and nationally—to some periodic activity and may benefit—in a sub-national context—from political circumstances to secure some level of electoral success. As noted above, seats are only one mark of success, and a rather blunt one at that. What small parties can achieve is the status of an opinion-former, that is, they campaign for political objectives and articulate political opinions that are marginalised or ignored as inconvenient by the major parties.

But, relevance here rests on whether and how the main parties respond to the arrival and policy objectives of the smaller party—either indulging in policy-poaching, or, attaching pariah status to the new arrival. Thus, for a small party, to matter or to have some relevance occurs, in part, from a response by the mainstream parties to small party agendas. Two things occur when pariah parties, as the BNP, secure some level of electoral success: Yet, beyond how the main parties respond to the electoral success of their smaller rivals, is how those smaller parties are able, in whatever level of political action or representative institution, to galvanise popular discontent with the main parties.

In this role the small party brings forward issues that may have remained ignored and transforms those issues into a critical mass of political support—which may not result in electoral victory, but, which raises the importance of a particular policy issue or objective, placing it before a wider audience than had hitherto been the case. Or, making its articulation and consideration somewhat more acceptable to the main parties—whatever its source.

On the Margins: Extremist Parties in Democratic Systems (World Politics Review Features)

In addition, smaller parties may—over time—radically transform attitudes towards particular issues, thereby forcing the main parties to policy-poach. While the Greens remain a small party on the national stage it is possible to say of the main three parties that they are all green now. Thus, relevance, for UK small parties is related more to policy-poaching than blackmail or coalition potential.

Indeed, to members and activists of small parties, growth, success and impact may be measured by criteria such as saving a deposit, or beating other small parties' votes in a number of seats, in some Vauxhall conference league of political parties. For the small party in UK politics, relevance is not an evaluative criterion; rather it is a fluctuating part of the party life-cycle, as parties have lesser or greater success, depending on political circumstances, in galvanising and channelling opinion and articulating political preferences and thus impacting on the policies of the main three parties.

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There is reason to hope that this election will not spark another crisis. At the same time, there is serious potential for post-election violence. Army Has a Vision for the Future. Is It the Right One? But deciding just how to deal with extremist parties poses confounding challenges to electoral systems premised on tolerance. In Europe, far-right extremism has proved to be surprisingly resilient and is today at its postwar height.

And in many Arab Spring countries, Salafi parties have opt In both mature and young democracies, political extremism is becoming a new normal. And in many Arab Spring countries, Salafi parties have opted to enter the political arena for the first time, overcoming their ideological objections to electoral politics in order to pursue their vision of an Islamic state.

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