Understanding support to programmatic political parties: a review of approaches and lessons learned
This report describes the main approaches that democracy support organisations have taken towards promoting the development of 'programmatic political parties' and summarises the lessons learned from these initiatives.
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In many contexts, political parties do not compete primarily based on distinct and credible policy platforms. Rather, they mainly appeal to voters by highlighting the personal qualities of party leaders, engaging in clientelism, or activating identity-based social cleavages. These forms of political competition are often associated with weaker service provision, fragility, and political violence.
Therefore, supporting the development of programmatic political parties – that is, political parties which try to appeal to voters based on a clear set of realistic policy positions – is often a priority for local and international partners. This report provides an overview of some of the common approaches that international partners have taken to supporting the development of programmatic parties, together with some of the lessons that have been learned from these initiatives.
This document is part of a series developed by the Politics, Governance and Rights Centre of Expertise (CoE), funded by UK aid from the UK government. This document is intended for use as a technical guide and any views expressed are those of the author and do not represent FCDO or UK government policy.
The Politics, Governance and Rights Centre of Expertise is a partnership between the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD). WFD is the UK public body dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world. Content produced is in collaboration and agreement between FCDO and WFD CoE teams.