Transpartisan, or transpartisanship, represents an emerging paradigm of political thought which accepts the validity of truths across a range of political perspectives and seeks to synthesize them into an inclusive, pragmatic container beyond typical political dualities. It is distinct from
bipartisanship
Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find c ...
, which aims to negotiate between "right" and "left", resulting in a dualistic perspective, and
nonpartisanship
Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias.
While an ''Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical ...
, which tends to avoid political affiliation altogether.
Philosophy
Transpartisanship is a movement to support and advance a common ground—or "new center"—that already existed in U.S. politics, emerging periodically into public view in the form of "unusual coalitions" of
progressives and
conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
around issues ranging from
war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
and the
military budget
A military budget (or military expenditure), also known as a defense budget, is the amount of financial resources dedicated by a state to raising and maintaining an armed forces or other methods essential for defense purposes.
Financing milita ...
to
corporate power
In social science and economics, corporate capitalism is a capitalist marketplace characterized by the dominance of hierarchical and bureaucratic corporations.
Overview
In the developed world, corporations dominate the marketplace, compri ...
and the
surveillance state.
The movement builds on methods of facilitated dialogue,
deliberation
Deliberation is a process of thoughtfully weighing options, for example prior to voting. Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and reason as opposed to power-struggle, creativity, or dialogue. Group decision-making, Group decisions are general ...
and
conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of Conflict (process), conflict and Revenge, retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively co ...
.
Current examples of transpartisan initiatives include Transpartisan Center, TheSolution.org, Reuniting America, Transpartisan Alliance, and Liberty Coalition.
Transpartisanship is an emerging field that advocates pragmatic and effective solutions to social and political problems, transcending and including preexisting political ideologies. Transpartisanship encompasses the idea that all systems are inextricably interconnected, and that successful outcomes can best be reached through inclusive, genuine, and respectful cooperation. Transpartisan democracy, in part, seeks to reintegrate the public's voice in identifying, debating, and shaping governmental policies, while continuing to protect the sovereignty of the individual.
The term "transpartisanship" has emerged to provide a meaningful alternative to "bipartisanship" and "nonpartisanship". Bipartisanship limits the dialogue process to two political viewpoints or entities, striving for compromise solutions. Nonpartisanship, on the other hand, tends to deny the existence of differing viewpoints in exchange for cooperation. Both the bipartisan and nonpartisan approaches can discount the multiplicity of viewpoints that exist, which often results in incomplete and therefore unsuccessful outcomes. In contrast to these, transpartisanship recognizes the existence and validity of many points of view, and advocates a constructive dialogue aimed at arriving at creative, integrated, and therefore, breakthrough solutions that meet the needs of all present.
Transpartisan gatherings have resulted not only in surprisingly civil conversations noted by mainstream media but also in shifts from traditional ideological stances by some participants.
[Atlee, Tom.]
A Personally Transformational Encounter of Left and Right
. http://co-intelligence.org. 2004. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
A close relative of transpartisanship is
integral politics. A transpartisan approach to policy would necessarily include individual and collective, as well as subjective and objective, perspective. Furthermore, similar to
integral theory, transpartisanship places politics in a developmental context, viewing democracy and prosperity not as static attainments, but rather emergent properties along a continuum of
adult development
Adult development encompasses the changes that occur in biological and psychological domains of human life from the end of adolescence until the end of one's life. Changes occur at the cellular level and are partially explained by biological theo ...
.
Transpartisan political parties
En Marche!
In 2016,
Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
created a new French political party,
En Marche. The party sought to transcend traditional political boundaries to be a transpartisan organisation.
Macron has described the party as being a
progressive party uniting the left and the right.
Observers and political commentators have described the party as being both
socially
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives fro ...
and
economically liberal in ideology,
Emmanuel Macron became the
President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...
. The party also won the National Assembly elections a month later, as candidates in the legislative elections included members of the Democratic Movement, as well as dissidents from the Socialist Party, The Republicans and minor parties. It won an absolute majority of seats in the National Assembly, securing 308 under its label and 42 for the MoDem.
Binaa Sudan Party
Binaa Sudan Party was established in February 2018 following an invitation from the
Sudanese Shadow Government, a group of youth professionals who joined to form a non-ideological organisation to produce a practical manifesto to put solutions for Sudan's state problems.
Binaa Sudan Party (BSP) labels itself as a Transpartisan organization. BSP is the first Transpartisan political party in Africa and the
MENA region
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...
and claims that the
Sudanese Shadow Government, established 2013, is the first transpartisan organization that played an active rule in a political map.
See also
*
Postpartisan
Post-partisanship is an approach to dispute resolution between political factions that emphasizes compromise and collaboration over political ideology and party discipline.Satin M. 2007. "Post-partisan!: The First Uniquely American Political Ideo ...
*
Radical centrism
Radical centrism, also called the radical center, the radical centre, and the radical middle, is a concept that arose in Western world, Western nations in the late 20th century. The ''Political radicalism, radical'' in the term refers to a willi ...
References
External links
Transpartisan CenterTheSolution.org (TED Talk)Transpartisan Alliance* {{usurped,
Liberty Coalition}
Reuniting AmericaAn essay by
Don Edward Beck
The Bridge Alliance
Political terminology
Emergence