Political faction
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| - | '''Sectarianism''' is a form of [[bigotry]], [[discrimination]], or [[hatred]] arising from attaching relations of inferiority and superiority to differences between subdivisions within a group. Common examples are [[Religious denomination|denomination]]s of a [[religion]], [[ethnic identity]], [[Social class|class]], or [[region]] for citizens of a state and [[Political faction|faction]]s of a [[political movement]]. | + | A '''political faction''' is a group of individuals, such as a [[political party]], a [[trade union]], or other group with a common political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, "parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. Members of factions band together as a way of achieving these goals and advancing their agenda and position within an organization. |
| - | The [[ideological]] underpinnings of attitudes and behaviours labelled as sectarian are extraordinarily varied. Members of a religious, national or political group may believe that their own salvation, or the success of their particular objectives, requires aggressively seeking converts from other groups; adherents of a given faction may believe that for the achievement of their own political or religious project their internal opponents must be converted or purged. | + | Factions are not limited to political parties; they can and frequently do form within any group that has some sort of political aim or purpose. |
| - | Sometimes a group that is under economic or political pressure will kill or attack members of another group which it regards as responsible for its own decline. It may also more rigidly define the definition of orthodox belief within its particular group or organization, and expel or excommunicate those who do not support this new found clarified definition of political or religious [[orthodoxy]]. In other cases, dissenters from this orthodoxy will secede from the orthodox organisation and proclaim themselves as practitioners of a reformed belief system, or holders of a perceived former orthodoxy. At other times, sectarianism may be the expression of a group's [[nationalist]]ic or cultural ambitions, or exploited by [[demagogue]]s. | + | The Latin word factio denoted originally either of the chariot teams that were organised professionally by private companies in ancient Rome, each recognizable by characteristic colour and arousing supporter hysteria similar to that in modern sports fans. These teams were not unlike gladiator schools, but the lethal nature of that entertainment meant few performers lasted long enough to build up similar crowd loyalty to the "team", while the fighters rarely actually teamed up, but rather fought duels or beasts. In time, political currents could become associated with such a team, although precisely how this happened is unclear. In Byzantine Constantinople, two such chariot factions, blue and green, repeatedly made or broke the claims of candidates to the imperial throne. |
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| - | The phrase "sectarian conflict" usually refers to violent conflict along religious or political lines such as the conflicts between [[Irish Nationalism|Nationalists]] and [[Unionism in Ireland|Unionists]] in [[Northern Ireland]] (religious and class-divisions may play major roles as well). It may also refer to general philosophical, political disparity between different schools of thought such as that between [[Shia Islam|Shia]] and [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Muslim]]s. Non-sectarians espouse that free association and tolerance of different beliefs are the cornerstone to successful peaceful human interaction. They espouse political and religious [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralism]]. | + | |
| + | Occasionally, the term "faction" is still used more or less as a synonym for political party, but "with opprobrious sense, conveying the imputation of selfish or mischievous ends or turbulent or unscrupulous methods", according to the Oxford English Dictionary. In his Dictionary, Samuel Johnson (a [[Tory]]) dismissively defined [[Whig]] as "the name of a faction". Similarly, in the tenth installment of The Federalist Papers, [[James Madison]] defines a faction as "a number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." In plain English this is a group that pursues self-interest at the expense of the greater good. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| - | * [[Collective narcissism]] | + | *[[Intragroup conflict]] (infighting) |
| - | * [[Communalism (South Asia)]] | + | *[[Ley de Lemas]] |
| - | * [[Cybersectarianism]] | + | *[[Partisan (political)]] |
| - | * [[Ethnic cleansing]] | + | |
| - | * [[Exclusivism]] | + | |
| - | * [[Group conflict]] | + | |
| - | * [[Identity politics]] | + | |
| - | * [[Identitarianism]] | + | |
| - | * [[Ingroups and outgroups]] | + | |
| - | * [[Jingoism]] | + | |
| - | * [[Narcissism of small differences]] | + | |
| - | * [[Partisanship]] | + | |
| - | * [[Religious segregation]] | + | |
| - | * [[Sect]] | + | |
| - | * [[Supremacism]] | + | |
| - | * [[Tribalism]] | + | |
| - | * [[Xenophobia]] | + | |
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A political faction is a group of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a common political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, "parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. Members of factions band together as a way of achieving these goals and advancing their agenda and position within an organization.
Factions are not limited to political parties; they can and frequently do form within any group that has some sort of political aim or purpose.
The Latin word factio denoted originally either of the chariot teams that were organised professionally by private companies in ancient Rome, each recognizable by characteristic colour and arousing supporter hysteria similar to that in modern sports fans. These teams were not unlike gladiator schools, but the lethal nature of that entertainment meant few performers lasted long enough to build up similar crowd loyalty to the "team", while the fighters rarely actually teamed up, but rather fought duels or beasts. In time, political currents could become associated with such a team, although precisely how this happened is unclear. In Byzantine Constantinople, two such chariot factions, blue and green, repeatedly made or broke the claims of candidates to the imperial throne.
Occasionally, the term "faction" is still used more or less as a synonym for political party, but "with opprobrious sense, conveying the imputation of selfish or mischievous ends or turbulent or unscrupulous methods", according to the Oxford English Dictionary. In his Dictionary, Samuel Johnson (a Tory) dismissively defined Whig as "the name of a faction". Similarly, in the tenth installment of The Federalist Papers, James Madison defines a faction as "a number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." In plain English this is a group that pursues self-interest at the expense of the greater good.
See also
- Intragroup conflict (infighting)
- Ley de Lemas
- Partisan (political)
