Political party caucuses and democracy: contradictio in terminis?
Date
2017
Authors
Napier, Clive J.
Labuschagne, Pieter
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State
Abstract
The concept of “caucus” has historically been imbedded within
practical politics and in the disciplines of political science and history.
In a general sense, a caucus (also referred to as a parliamentary
party) aims to reach agreement between individuals on specific
matters. In parliamentary politics and at all levels of government a
caucus forms an essential structure in the functioning of a political
party within a legislature, being an integral part of the strategic makeup
of parties from central parliament down to the local level. The
leadership of political parties organise their members into groups,
but individual members may also organise themselves into groups
which are generally known as caucuses. In the various caucuses,
general strategy, policies and the candidates to be voted for, or to be
elected into office are decided and agreed upon – this, to ensure that
the party demonstrates solidarity within the respective legislatures
and to the outside world. The secret manner in which a party caucus
operates within a supposedly transparent democracy raises a number
of concerns. The question is whether such secrecy and the insistence
that all party members of a caucus – particularly in parliamentary
political systems – toe the party line, infringes on the diversity of
interests that elected members are supposed to represent? The
purpose and values of democratic representation presuppose a direct
line from the individual voter(s) to the representatives in a legislature.
The caucus in effect inserts a space between individuals and their
respective legislatures which may require that diverse interests
be sacrificed for the sake of solidarity and a common strategy. The
aims of the article are to make specific reference to the South African
experience to ascertain whether a caucus undermines the democratic
principle of representation and is in effect a contradictio in terminis.
Description
Keywords
Caucus, Parliamentary party, Political parties, Politics, Representative democracy
Citation
Napier, C. J., & Labuschagne, P. (2017). Political party caucuses and democracy: contradictio in terminis? Journal for Contemporary History, 42(2), 208-226.