The demise of political parties isn't a new phenomenon. Since at least the Nineteen Eighties, parties in all established European democracies have suffered massive membership losses to the point where they only retain a terribly restricted capability to interact citizens. The societal anchor of political parties is seriously threatened. Vernon Bogdanor wrote in 2006 that 'the story of the rise and fall of the mass political party is one among the great unwritten books of our time'. So why do I choose this rather recent downside up again in 2009? Not as a result of I need to write the obituary of the mass political party however as a result of we can now see where the development of political parties would possibly lead us. This potential new future became apparent throughout the US Presidential campaign. Additionally to his remarkable personal qualities, Barack Obama - during the Democratic primaries, the Presidential campaign and now while sitting President - has been extremely successful in using new communication technologies to attach directly with citizens. Through the use of social networking tools, online video messaging and nearly real time updates on what was happening on the campaign path - and by creating many of those tools on the market to his supporters too - he was able to form a community that wasn't solely prepared to vote for him however willing to organise and campaign on the local level. He was in a position to make a political movement he can now build upon. The development of this movement was higher than all doable because new communication techniques offered a manner of being actively involved in the campaign for change. However if you look behind the technical tools you notice that Barack Obama's campaign was ready to recreate recent - rather than produce new - characteristics that ancient European parties, particularly left-of-centre parties, have lost over the years: a sense of community and belonging. Allow us to take the oldest social democratic party in the planet as an example: the German SPD. When the party was founded in 1863, its backbone was instructional leagues founded to coach workers. The cultural and community aspect was therefore not just a by-product but terribly a lot of the founding principle of the party. Being a social democrat was not a question of membership in an organisation but rather a means of life. The identity of the party was bolstered by the massive variety of social democratic newspapers and publications that contributed to the present distinct culture. The cultural underpinnings of political parties were additionally evident elsewhere and it seems that it has been particularly this attribute, that used to produce the closest link to society, that has declined most dramatically in recent decades. It absolutely was argued that as a result of of social and ideological changes in societies in the second half of the twentieth century, mass parties - rather homogenous constructs - developed into catch-all parties that tried to integrate the diversifying dogmas and social backgrounds of voters under the umbrella of the same party. These days, several parties look like what political scientists call 'skilled-electoral parties'. Such parties are organisations that have a highly centralised leadership and are focussed on winning votes and offices. They need largely abandoned the cultural heritage of ancient political parties. 'Skilled-electoral party' is also the closest typology for US political parties, that are practically committees to fight elections without abundant activity between ballots. They're very candidate centred and lack organisational leadership. Thus what's new that might show the approach political parties may go from here? What has modified throughout the Obama campaign? In a nutshell, Barack Obama has managed to recreate the community aspects of recent mass parties and integrate them into a skilled-electoral party. In the up to date context, but, culture will not mean a certain means of living however rather being half of a community based on a charismatic political leader, new political ideas and a want for grassroots activism. The creation of this new culture within the Obama campaign has solely been potential by the utilization of recent media. Therefore once it has transformed the economy and therefore the way we tend to communicate with each alternative, is the knowledge, communication and technology (ICT) revolution now fundamentally changing the political method too? I assume there are strong arguments in favour of this and Barack Obama's success is evidence. What will this mean for European parties? The socio-economic circumstances and ideological believes of citizens have indeed modified dramatically since the muse of early European parties, political activism has but not disappeared. The success of single-issue movements like Greenpeace, Amnesty International and also the Globalisation critics of Attac clearly shows the enduring want for political activism. A number of these movements have even grown into political parties in their own right, for instance the German Greens or - with a rather completely different political agenda .
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Political parties perform important roles in European societies. Parties are institutions in which voters with similar political views organise, develop political programmes and actively participate within the political process. They're important for democracy as a result of parties offer the foremost clear-cut political decisions that are put to the electorate. Parties are recruitment organisations, through which parliamentarians and members of presidency are sourced. Even though the latter ...
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