Syncretic politics

This article is about the politics outside the conventional spectrum. For other uses, see Third Way (disambiguation).

Syncretic politics, or spectral-syncretic politics, combine elements from across the conventional left–right political spectrum. The idea of syncretic politics has been influenced by syncretism and syncretic religion.^[1] The main idea of syncretic politics is that taking political positions of neutrality by combining elements associated with left-wing politics and right-wing politics can achieve a goal of reconciliation.^[2][3][4][5]

Political syncretism is also referred to as catch-all politics, and syncretism is characterized by vague positioning on the political spectrum. Syncretic parties exhibit very high levels of ideological adaptability and flexibility, constantly switching positions and modifying their stances in order to broaden their electorate, without a consolidated commitment to concrete ideologies and political tradition.^[6] Political scientist Gilda Sensales argues that political syncretism is relatively rare, and should only be applied to parties and movements that lack programmatic content and which intentionally create ideological ambiguity to attract support.^[7]

Historical examples

Spain

The Falange of Spain, while allied with the nationalist right side during the Spanish Civil War and being widely considered to be far right,^[8] presented itself definitively as syncretic.^[9] Falangism has attacked both the left and the right as its "enemies", declaring itself to be neither left nor right, but a Third Position.^[10]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the emergence of New Labour under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown was a pitch for the Third Way, mixing neoliberal economic policies, such as banking privatization, with socially progressive policies.^[11][12]

United States

In the United States, Third Way adherents embrace fiscal conservatism to a greater extent than traditional social liberals and advocate some replacement of welfare with workfare, and sometimes have a stronger preference for market solutions to traditional problems (as in pollution markets), while rejecting pure laissez-faire economics and other right-libertarian positions. This style of governing was firmly adopted and partly redefined during the administration of President Bill Clinton.^[13] Political scientist Stephen Skowronek introduced the term "Third Way" into the interpretation of American presidential politics.^[14][15][16] Such Presidents undermine the opposition by borrowing policies from it in an effort to seize the middle and with it to achieve political dominance. This technique is known as triangulation and was used by Bill Clinton and other New Democrats who sought to move beyond the party's New Deal liberalism reputation in response to the political realignment of the 1980s. Through this strategy, Clinton adopted themes associated with the Republican Party, such as fiscal conservatism, welfare reform, deregulation and law and order policies. Famously, he declared in the 1996 State of the Union Address that "the era of big government is over".^[17]

Other examples

• LMP – Hungary's Green Party,^[18] Hungary
• Five Star Movement,^[19] Italy
• Partido Demokratiko Pilipino,^[20] Philippines
• People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia,^[21] Slovakia
• Crusade of Romanianism,^[22] Romania (1934–1937)
• Social Democratic Party,^[23] Romania
• National Bolshevik Party,^[24] Russia (1993–2007)
• Minaret of Freedom Institute,^[25] United States
• National Union for Social Justice,^[26] United States (1934–1936)
• Syrian Social Nationalist Party,^[27] Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine
• Hezbollah,^[28] Lebanon

See also

• Big tent
• Centrism
• Georgism
• Horseshoe theory
• LaRouche movement
• National Bolshevism
• Third Position

References

1. "Syncretism". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
2. Griffin, Roger (1995). Fascism (paperback). Oxford readers (second printing ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 8, 307. ISBN 978-0192892492.
3. Kallis, Aristotle A. (2002). The Fascism Reader. Routledge. p. 71. ISBN 978-0415243599.
4. Blamires, Cyprian (2006). World Fascism: A Historical Encyclopedia (hardcover) (5 ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 14, 561. ISBN 978-1576079409.
5. Bastow, Steve; Martin, James (2003). Third Way Discourse. Edinburgh University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0748615612. However, what is often missed in many of these discussions is an awareness of the variety of ideologies of the third way that span the twentieth century and traverse the spectrum from left to right.
6. "'Syncretic' Populism in Contemporary 21st Century European Politics". Radical Right Analysis. 19 February 2020.
7. Sensales, Gilda (2024). Political Psychology Perspectives on Populism. Palgrave Studies in Political Psychology. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. p. 28. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-44073-1. ISBN 978-3-031-44073-1. ISSN 2946-2606.
8. Rodney P. Carlisle (general editor). The Encyclopedia of Politics: The Left and the Right, Volume 2: The Right. Thousand Oaks, California, USA; London, England, UK; New Delhi, India: Sage Publications, 2005. Pp. 633.
9. Fernandez, Paloma Aguilar (August 2002). Memory in Amnesia: The Role of the Spanish Civil War in the Transition to Democracy (hardcover). Oxford; New York: Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1571817570.
10. Griffin, Roger (1995). Fascism (paperback). Oxford readers (second printing ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-0192892492.
11. "Leader: Blair's new third way". the Guardian. 2005-05-08.
12. "BBC News — UK Politics — All aboard the Third Way". BBC News.
13. Harris, John F. (2005). The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House. Random House. ISBN 9780375508479.
14. Skowronek, Stephen (1993). The Politics Presidents Make. ISBN 0-674-68937-2.
15. Valelly, Rick (31 March 2003). "An Overlooked Theory on Presidential Politics". unm.edu. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
16. Shea, Christopher (23 March 2003). "Regime change". boston.com. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
17. Sanger, David E. (29 January 2010). "Where Clinton Turned Right, Obama Plowed Ahead". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
18. Zrt, HVG Kiadó (2014-01-15). "Elek István: Igen, a remény hal meg utoljára". hvg.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2021-07-01.
19. Downes, James (19 February 2020). "'Syncretic' Populism in Contemporary 21st Century European Politics". Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
20. Liow, Joseph Chinyong (2022). "Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) (Philippines)". Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia. pp. 359–390. doi:10.4324/9781003121565. ISBN 978-1-003-12156-5.
21. Trencsényi, Balázs; Kopeček, Michal; Gabrijelčič, Luka Lisjak; Falina, Maria; Baár, Monika; Janowski, Maciej (2018). A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe. Volume 2 Part 2: Negotiating Modernity in the "Short Twentieth Century" and Beyond 1968–2018 / Balázs Trencsényi, Michal Kopeček, Luka Lisjak Gabrijelčič, Maria Falina, Mónika Baár, and Maciej Janowski (First ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 251. ISBN 9780198829607.
22. Sunshine, Spencer (Winter 2008). "Rebranding Fascism: National-Anarchists".
23. "Pragmatism is a winner for Romanian Left". POLITICO. 2016-12-12. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
24. Borenstein, Eliot (2004). "Review of National Bolshevism: Stalinist Mass Culture and the Formation of Modern Russian National Identity, 1931-1956". The Slavic and East European Journal. 48 (3): 497–499. ISSN 0037-6752. JSTOR 3220080.
25. Euben, Roxanne L. (2002). "Contingent Borders, Syncretic Perspectives: Globalization, Political Theory, and Islamizing Knowledge". International Studies Review. 4 (1): 23–48. doi:10.1111/1521-9488.t01-1-00251. ISSN 1521-9488. JSTOR 3186273.
26. Jackson, Paul (2015-01-01). James Strachey Barnes and the Fascist Revolution: Catholicism, Anti-Semitism and the International New Order. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-28228-5.
27. Solomon, Christopher (2022). In Search of Greater Syria: The History and Politics of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. I. B. Tauris. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-8386-0642-8. During the Lebanese Civil War, the SSNP transitioned over to the left. It adopted a heightened anti-imperialist character and aligned itself with the leftwing nationalist Baath Party. In addition, the party looks to create a secular environment that empowers women and the desires to end sectarianism. However, it is spectral-syncretic politics that could perhaps describe the party's outlook today. The SSNP does not tend to identify with either the right or the left. Nationalism and self-determination are still key elements, along with a sense of community and shared responsibilities.
28. Sanderson, Stephen K. (2015-12-03). Revolutions: A Worldwide Introduction to Political and Social Change. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-26457-6.