The second understanding of politics sees cooperation as the most basic feature of politics. People understand that to change the rules of a community or make sure that they are enforced, they have to work together.
However, different opinions, competing needs and opposing interests can cause disagreement. If people cannot reach a compromise, then cooperation can be unsuccessful. Of course, this compromise often means, “agreeing to disagree”. It is not necessary for all parties to have the same views, but it necessary for them all to agree that preventing other parties to participate, or not blocking decisions are not acceptable. For these reasons, cooperation is one of the most necessary political activities, but it is also one of the most challenging. Three important reasons for cooperation in a community are:
• Peace and Stability: For a community to be peaceful, individuals and groups must be able to resolve conflict. If conflict leads to violence, then the community is in danger. Cooperation for peace is a way of avoiding violent conflict. When communities are free from violent conflict, society becomes more predictable and stable.
• Development and Prosperity: Cooperation is necessary because people working together can solve problems and accomplish goals that they could not achieve alone. Examples include national infrastructure (roads and waterways) and a stable currency. Cooperation can also lead to more wealth in a community, and can help to reduce poverty.
• Security and Defence: Individuals and groups would not be as safe without organised public security. Defence against aggression from outside the community (i.e. a military attack) is one example. Another example is defence against aggression or exploitation by criminals. This can be provided by a police force (McLaughlin 2013: 6-10).
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Inter-party Cooperation An important aspect of party politics is inter-party cooperation. This refers to the action or process by which political parties work together, towards the same goals. For example, in Guatemala, participants in a multiparty dialogue process agreed that their objective was to frame a national agenda that would define the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ but not the ‘how’ of achieving its goals. The “How” would remain each party’s unique program, corresponding to its particular ideology and perspective. This approach enabled the parties to reach consensus while maintaining the basis for competition.’ There are many ways in which a political party can work together with other parties to achieve its political goals. Parties can choose to work together in the short term, often around elections, or to commit themselves to temporary or longer-term partnerships through inter-party collaboration or coalition building. Some of these cooperation mechanisms include: 1. Coalitions. This usually involves two or more political parties forming a government or collaborating to win a vote (e.g. by passing legislation in parliament). Such coalitions can be forged either in the pre-election or in the post-election phase. 2. Parliamentary committees. In a parliamentary committee, small groups of parliamentarians from different parties are given the power by parliament to suggest recommendations on policy issues, legislation or the work and expenditure of the government. 3. Parliamentary caucuses. Members of parliament from different parties come together to attempt to influence the political agenda on issues that they share concerns about. 4. Institutionalized political party dialogues. An ongoing dialogue between political parties from across the political spectrum, often focused on issues of common interest to parties as institutions. 5. Informal political party dialogues. This refers to any kind of dialogue that takes place between two or more politicians from different political parties held in a non-structured manner, and without an organizational mechanism (e.g. in informal meetings or by chance in parliamentary corridors). Source: Political Party Dialogue: A Facilitator’s Guide |