List of political groups in Talahara

Political groups in the Talaharan Commune are voluntary organizations that play an important role in political organization. Variously called associations, groups, movements, but most commonly as salons; political groups have no official status in the Commune. However, in practice, political groups organize the campaigns of preferred or associated candidates, including the completion of petitions and the production and distribution of campaign materials. There are two broad types of political groups: civic salons which are independent groups borne out of civic organization; and industrial salons which originate in industrial organization and industrial democracy.

There are several dozen political groups which are active among the 1,250 Local Legislative Councils and the 50 Superior Legislative Councils in Talahara. There are only seven different groups with representation at the Supreme Legislative Council. Only four salons have representation at the Executive Council.

Political axis

While many liberal and monarchical nations predominantly define their political axes on a left-right scale, the Talaharan Commune's political groups are more commonly defined by anarchist or statist leanings. While occasionally referred to as an up-down scale by foreign analysts, the anarchist/statist distinction is more commonly used within Talahara, though the latter is occasionally considered pejorative.

Anarchism is a political position that calls for the abolition of unnecessary or unjust hierarchies and an emphasis on local, community organization. In Talahara, anarchists advocate for the retention of political power at the level of Local Legislative Councils, and against the devolution of power to higher-level councils. Radical anarchist positions include the abolition of the central organization of education, healthcare, and infrastructure. More moderate positions may simply include greater checks and balances on representatives and executive authority. Anarchism is equally identified with civic republicans who desire greater empowerment of local government authorities and industrial unions that seek greater autonomy from all levels of government.

Statism is a political position that calls for more political unity within Talahara and more authority for central bodies of government. At the extreme end, statists would see the Commune's government inverted into a truly unitary entity, with the central government devolving power down to local communities rather than the inverse. Other radical statist objectives include economic central planning. Moderate statist beliefs hold that communities should be readier to cooperate and delegate authority to higher legislative councils, also holding that more interconnected societies are less insular. Moderate statists advocate for centralizing services and infrastructure, including healthcare and education, while retaining the current political structure of the commune. As the label is occasionally considered pejorative, common euphemisms include unity, community, or centre.

In many instances, statist control is associated with an emphasis on industrial democracy and the power of unions. Seemingly paradoxically, some statists advocate for the centralization of a narrow band of powers in a federal government, while abolishing other government services entirely, relying on industrial unions to provide civic services. Advocates of these politics are often referred to as anarcho-industrialists or anarcho-statists.

Types of political groups

There are two broad types of political groups in Talahara. Civic salons are independent groups which originated with civic organization efforts and express campaigning for political candidates. Industrial salons originated originally for campaigning in industrial democracy, though several of these groups have since become institutional in their industries.

Both civic and industrial salons play major, but informal roles in political organization in Talahara. However, the differences between them and comparative efficacy in organizing is indeterminable owing to the various forms that each type includes and different political objectives.

Civic salons

Civic salons are among the oldest political groups in the Talaharan Commune. Civic salons are informal organizations staffed by individuals and community members to aggregate resources in the furtherance of diverse political causes. Members are, often necessarily, not able to work full-time for campaigns and maintain other forms of employment. Membership in a civic salon is also not exclusive and individuals may join or leave multiple salons at their leisure. The central governance of a civic salon varies considerably. In some cases, organization is entirely devolved to the membership which also defines its own ideology and objectives. In other cases, sitting representatives in different Legislative Councils take the lead in defining policy objectives that may or may not accord with other representatives or the broader public. In rare cases, the central organization is performed by a select team that may consider itself ideologically pure and capable of controlling and disseminating information to the broader membership.

Industrial salons

The primary distinction between civic and industrial salons is that the latter emerged from the process of industrial democracy and labour organization, rather than independent organization around civic politics. Over time, industrial salons expanded from organizing solely within the sphere of industrial democracy and began to leverage influence in civic politics. However, civic and industrial salons have several major differences.

One major difference is that, in industrial salons, membership is contingent on union membership. Many major industrial salons are organized across different industries with effectively universal opportunities for membership. Other industrial salons, particularly those that advocate specifically for the interests of a particular industry, have necessarily restricted membership. This is distinct from civic salons which tend to have open membership. Another difference is in organizing time which is a guaranteed right (within particular limits) during work hours. As such, industrial salons can hold meetings and events during work hours and can often produce campaign materials more efficiently than civic campaigns which have no such rights.

In some instances, industrial salons have become effectively institutionalized in the governance structures of their industries. In these cases, internal salon politics often overtake competition between salons and the overarching group effectively becomes an advocacy group for the industry as a whole. In these instances, union heads may act as the primary ideologues for their unions' directions.