Syncretic politics

This article is about the politics outside the conventional spectrum. For other uses, see Third Way (disambiguation).
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Syncretic politics, or spectral-syncretic politics, combine elements from across the conventional left–right political spectrum. The idea of syncretic politics has been influenced by syncretism and syncretic religion.[1] The main idea of syncretic politics is that taking political positions of neutrality by combining elements associated with left-wing politics and right-wing politics can achieve a goal of reconciliation.[2][3][4][5]

Political syncretism is also referred to as catch-all politics, and syncretism is characterized by vague positioning on the political spectrum. Syncretic parties exhibit very high levels of ideological adaptability and flexibility, constantly switching positions and modifying their stances in order to broaden their electorate, without a consolidated commitment to concrete ideologies and political tradition.[6] Political scientist Gilda Sensales argues that political syncretism is relatively rare, and should only be applied to parties and movements that lack programmatic content and which intentionally create ideological ambiguity to attract support.[7]

  1. ^ "Syncretism". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  2. ^ Griffin, Roger (1995). Fascism (paperback). Oxford readers (second printing ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 8, 307. ISBN 978-0192892492.
  3. ^ Kallis, Aristotle A. (2002). The Fascism Reader. Routledge. p. 71. ISBN 978-0415243599.
  4. ^ Blamires, Cyprian (2006). World Fascism: A Historical Encyclopedia (hardcover) (5 ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 14, 561. ISBN 978-1576079409.
  5. ^ Bastow, Steve; Martin, James (2003). Third Way Discourse. Edinburgh University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0748615612. However, what is often missed in many of these discussions is an awareness of the variety of ideologies of the third way that span the twentieth century and traverse the spectrum from left to right.
  6. ^ "'Syncretic' Populism in Contemporary 21st Century European Politics". Radical Right Analysis. 19 February 2020.
  7. ^ Sensales, Gilda (2024). Political Psychology Perspectives on Populism. Palgrave Studies in Political Psychology. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. p. 28. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-44073-1. ISBN 978-3-031-44073-1. ISSN 2946-2606.