A party’s implosion is better than false unity

In the world of politics, fierce intraparty fighting – as seen within the ranks of the ANC – is nothing new.

In his book Factional Politics, How Dominant Parties Implode or Stabilize, author Françoise Boucek, from the School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London, takes a global view of the phenomenon – with a focus on the internal politics of dominant parties in the 1990s.

These include:

• The Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher and her internecine overthrow in November 1990 – to be replaced by John Major who had won the Conservatives a fourth term in office in 1992.
• Defeat of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party – thrown out of office for the first time in 38 years.
• The implosion of Italy’s ruling Christian Democratic Party after more than four decades in power, with internal conflict and factional defections having played a big role.
• The return to power of Canada’s Liberals, who had dominated government for most of the 20th century, after a near-fatal implosion of the Progressive Conservatives.

As can be seen, the challenge rests on how party leaders manage factionalism.

Boucek argues that political parties “aren’t monolithic structures but coalitions of individuals and sub-party groups with diverse attitudes, interests and ambitions.

“This creates competitive and conflicting pressures inside parties, which can trigger the formation and entrenchment of internal factions, making the unitary actor assumption of party competition theories highly questionable.”

But if regulated, Boucek says competitive factionalism “can be a force for good”.

She explains: “It can improve intraparty democracy by facilitating debate and communication between leaders and followers. It can contain and dissipate conflict within an organisation by giving dissenters a voice.

“Factionalism can also provide for power sharing and conflict resolution.”

But intense dislike of one another within a party can create centrifugal and competitive factionalism, which can be destabilising.

Warns Boucek: “Too much factional competition creates fragmentation and polarisation, resulting in majority failures and instability.

“As factions become too numerous and self-seeking, they operate mainly as channels for the distribution of patronage.”

The 2017 ANC Nasrec national conference, which saw President Cyril Ramaphosa being elected party leader, has come and gone.

Rallying behind the newly elected leader post-conference has been an old ANC tradition, despite nursing wounds of a contest defeat.

While Ramaphosa has remarkably embraced contest rival Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the ghosts of Nasrec continue to haunt the ANC.

Three years after Nasrec, Ramaphosa has conceded that the party is “at war with itself”.

At the core of the conflict is the push by some ANC leaders to disregard a party national conference resolution for members – like secretary-general Ace Magashule – to “step aside” due to facing criminal charges.

Luthuli House has not explained what makes the land resolution much more important than the “step aside” order for those facing criminal charges.

Putting party interests before the country is bound to bite the ANC in the future – especially in upcoming polls.

A possible party implosion is better than false unity.

Brian Sokutu.

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