The Party as a Political Subject

The material is published in collaboration with the “Enlight” Public Research Center NGO and the “:Boon”scientific-cultural foundation. 

The Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci is considered to be the founder of the Neo-Marxismtheory. In his opinion, the civil society is a priority and it is equivalent to the social  consensus. 

Gramsci divided theintellectuals into classical and organic intellectuals, and this classification also referred to parties. The party was considered as an organic, if it represented the interests of not only its own, but also of other groups and social groups. By coming to power, the organic parties carry out their power in two ways in a democratic and regressive way.

Antonio Gramsci pointed out that the authorities and political parties are of two types: elitist,where there are elite groups, and masses, in which, as Gramsci says, there is a need for a “proxy leader” that directly links the society and the party dictating political agenda.

Speaking about political parties, Gramsci underscored that the political party is divided into three parts: the middle class (the main part of the party followers), the general headquarters (which connect leaders with subject people) and leaders. 

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Gramsci used the term “mass bureaucracy”. The private bureaucrats, first and foremost, are bureaucrats of the party who must conduct public activities and represent the interests of public groups.

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We can conclude that the party must be public, transparent and accountable to its voters.

Author: GorMadoyan, PhD researcher at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography at NAS RA, researcher of “Enlight” NGO. 

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Translator: Anna Ghulijanyan