Syncretic politics

This article is about the politics outside the conventional spectrum. For other uses, see Third Way (disambiguation).

Syncretic politics or spectral-syncretic refers to politics outside the conventional left–right political spectrum. The term syncretic politics has been derived from the idea of syncretism (syncretic religion). The main idea of syncretic politics is that taking political positions of neutrality by combining elements associated with the left and right can achieve a goal of reconciliation. Since this umbrella term is defined by the negation of the two standard poles of a given one-dimensional political spectrum, it refers to quite heterogeneous approaches.

The Falange of Spain presented itself as syncretic. Falangism has attacked both the left and the right as its "enemies", declaring itself to be neither left nor right, but a third position.

In Hungary there has been a strong presence of syncretic political parties since the revolutions of 1989. They won the election in 1990 forming a coalition government: Hungarian Democratic Forum, Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party and KDNP. KDNP later became a close ally of FIDESZ, losing this attribute in the process. After the first 4-year term syncretic parties went into a decline, many of them disappearing and only two new ones emerging since then: Hungarian Justice and Life Party and Politics Can Be Different, the latter still being present in the Hungarian parliament. Notable politicians are prime minister József Antall, minister of agriculture and rural development József Torgyán and green leader András Schiffer.

At the peak of the Cold War, the former Argentinian President Juan Perón (1946–55; 1973–74) defined the international position of his doctrine (Peronism) as a third position between capitalism and communism, a stance which became a precedent of the Non-Aligned Movement.

In the United States, "third way" adherents embrace fiscal conservatism to a greater extent than traditional social liberals, and advocate some replacement of welfare with workfare, and sometimes have a stronger preference for market solutions to traditional problems (as in pollution markets), while rejecting pure laissez-faire economics and other libertarian positions. This style of governing was firmly adopted and partly redefined during the administration of President Bill Clinton. Political scientist Stephen Skowronek introduced the term "third way". Such presidents undermine the opposition by borrowing policies from it in an effort to seize the middle and with it to achieve political dominance. Examples of this are: Nixon’s economic policies, which were a continuation of Johnson's "Great Society" and Clinton’s welfare reform.

See also

• Bipartisanship
• Centrism
• Grand coalition
• Historic Compromise
• Independent politician
• Independent (voter)
• Radical centrism
• Third Way