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The change “Goran” between political
parties & movements - Part I
15.12.2009
By Mufid Abdulla
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December 15, 2009
When considering the general characteristics of
political parties in the Western world we can see
that most have taken a Stalinist approach to
political parties. Following the fantastic and
admirable influence of Gorran (The Change Movement)
in the 25/07/09 election in Kurdistan it is clear
that this group has the potential to make a real
impact on the essential changes which need to take
place for the sake of the Kurdish people in the
south of Kurdistan. What Gorran is aiming to do is
to take a totally different approach and to teach
people that there are ways to approach politics away
from the Stalinist style. The only way that this can
be achieved is to declare themselves as a political
movement rather than a party and to have a clear
vision of the operation of a political movement and
the best way to approach the achievement of this
vision.
In order for Gorran to operate to its full potential
as a political movement it is useful to first
consider the following points; a clear definition of
the exact role of a political party and movement;
the extent of the similarities and differences
between a political party and movement and what is
required to declare yourself as either of these. We
need to consider these specific requirements and
tasks and then consider in detail a model of a
successful political movement. We must first point
out that this is a complex issue and there are many
different types of parties and movements, for the
purpose of our study we will focus on those which
are aimed solely at striving for significant social
and economic changes in order to achieve social
justice, democracy and equity.
Let us first consider the definition of a political
party. A political party is an organisation working
to represent groups of people and ideas, which makes
laws through parliament and seeks to maintain
political power within government. The main power of
political parties in parliament comes from the
members working as a team towards a set of specific
goals and ideologies. The type of political party
depends largely on the type of electoral system,www.ekurd.netwhether
it be a proportional representation voting system as
is such throughout most political parties in Europe
or a preferential voting system such as in Ireland
and Australia. Additionally a political party may be
one-party dominated, two-party dominated or
multiple-party dominated. These are all factors we
will consider in further detail later in the
research.
On the other hand, political or social movements are
a type of group action consisting of groups of
individuals and/ or organisations which have come
together to focus on specific political or social
issues aiming to create a collective challenge. The
following definition of a social movement is useful
to consider here from Charles Tilly as he sees this
as a major vehicle for the participation of ordinary
people in public politics. Tilly argues that there
are three major elements to a social movement (Tilly,
2004):
1. ‘Campaigns: a sustained, organised public effort
making collective claims on target authorities;
2. Repertoire: employment of combinations from among
the following forms of political action: creation of
special-purpose associations and coalitions, public
meetings, solemn processions, vigils, rallies,
demonstrations, petition drives, statements to and
in public media, and pamphleteering; and
3. WUNC displays: participants’ concerted public
representation of worthiness, unity, numbers, and
commitments on the part of themselves and/or their
constituencies.’
Copyright © 2009 ekurd.net, Mufid Abdulla.
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