Can we have democracy without political parties?

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Around the world, voters appear to be turning away from traditional political organisations, but can democracy survive without them?

In 1796, President George Washington lambasted political parties for allowing "cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men" to "subvert the power of the people".

His indictment seems brutally timely today, just a few months after 147 Republican US congress members publicly challenged results of the most recent US presidential election. But even long before then, many Americans shared Washington's concern.

The popularity of parties is at a nadir, with both the Democratic and Republican parties in the US widely condemned as not only unrepresentative but also hijacked by elites. Indeed, a steadily increasing share of US voters – 38% in 2018 – identify as unaffiliated with either party. That proportion is now larger than the share of voters identifying with either Republicans or Democrats.

It seems to be an international phenomenon. In Europe, for example, traditionally powerful centre-left parties are being accused of ignoring their voters, potentially contributing to a backlash that helped push the United Kingdom into Brexit.

The mounting animosity toward the parties has inspired debate among political scientists. Defenders of the traditional party system contend that democracy depends on strong, organised and trustworthy political factions. "People in politics often try to go around parties, to go directly to the people. But without the parties, we'd have chaos," says Harvard University political scientist Nancy Rosenblum, who explores the challenges facing political parties today.

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