A political faction is a group of individuals within a political party that share a common political purpose but differs in some respect to the rest of the entity. 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. History The Latin word factio denoted originally either of the chariot teams that were organized 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. Organization Factions differ in the amount of organization and internal structure they possess. On the left, these may take the form of tendencies or platforms. Most factions are very loose organizations , having no definitive list of members, but some factions, have a formal internal structure, with membership lists, regular meetings, official positions – such as negotiators, conveners, whips and organisers, – and a definitive policy position on every issue affecting the broader organization . Such factions will typically be binding; that is, they rely upon all members casting their votes in accordance with the pre-ordained official stance of the faction. Operation of factions In political organizations that are democratic in structure, factions rely heavily on securing enough votes to win important ballots. This process is sometimes referred to as “doing the numbers”. Having the numbers will allow the faction to push policies it supports and elect its members to powerful positions within the broader organisation. If one faction develops within an organization , there will usually be at least one other that develops in opposition to it. Opposing factions will try to match each other's level of organization and internal discipline, but will also engage in negotiations and trade-offs to ensure that the organization 's activities are not compromised and that every group has a chance to obtain at least some of its goals. Key to the operation of an organized faction is the existence of a power base. This will typically be some office, division or branch of the broader organisation over which the faction has effective control. Sometimes a power base may be an external or affiliated organization that is involved with the broader organization in some way. A power base serves several key functions: It acts as a recruitment centre for new members, and promotes homogeneity within the membership (crucial for maintaining factional cohesion); It can be used as an organizing centre for factional events and activities; It functions as a springboard, advancing the career of selected factional members and allowing them to gain skills that will increase their effectiveness and clout.
A political faction is a group of individuals within a political party that share a common political purpose but differs in some respect to the rest of the entity. 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 organisation . 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. History 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. Organisation Factions differ in the amount of organisation and internal structure they possess. On the left, these may take the form of tendencies or platforms. Most factions are very loose organisations , having no definitive list of members, but some factions, have a formal internal structure, with membership lists, regular meetings, official positions – such as negotiators, conveners, whips and organisers, – and a definitive policy position on every issue affecting the broader organisation . Such factions will typically be binding; that is, they rely upon all members casting their votes in accordance with the pre-ordained official stance of the faction. Operation of factions In political organisations that are democratic in structure, factions rely heavily on securing enough votes to win important ballots. This process is sometimes referred to as “doing the numbers”. Having the numbers will allow the faction to push policies it supports and elect its members to powerful positions within the broader organisation. If one faction develops within an organisation , there will usually be at least one other that develops in opposition to it. Opposing factions will try to match each other's level of organisation and internal discipline, but will also engage in negotiations and trade-offs to ensure that the organisation 's activities are not compromised and that every group has a chance to obtain at least some of its goals. Key to the operation of an organised faction is the existence of a power base. This will typically be some office, division or branch of the broader organisation over which the faction has effective control. Sometimes a power base may be an external or affiliated organisation that is involved with the broader organisation in some way. A power base serves several key functions: It acts as a recruitment centre for new members, and promotes homogeneity within the membership (crucial for maintaining factional cohesion); It can be used as an organising centre for factional events and activities; It functions as a springboard, advancing the career of selected factional members and allowing them to gain skills that will increase their effectiveness and clout.
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