Republican Nationalist Party (the Cape)
Republican Nationalist Party Parduv Restarka Nationalista | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | RNP, PRN |
| Leader | Kil Furey |
| First Secretary | Saoirse Kairtus |
| Standing Committee | Central Committee of Workers, Peasants, and Nationals |
| Founder | Melvyn Kalma |
| Founded |
|
| Preceded by | Political Office of the National Revolutionary Army |
| Headquarters | 12 Republic Ave, Cape Town, Cape Province |
| Newspaper | Restarka the Republic |
| Think tank | National Policy Institute |
| Youth wing | League of Republican Youth |
| Overseas wing | League of Republicans Abroad |
| Education wing | Institute of Revolutionary Practice |
| Armed wing | National Revolutionary Army (1886-1922, 1935-1951) |
| Labour wing | Association of Republican Labour |
| Membership (2021) |  23,981,211 |
| Ideology | Restarkism Populism Cape nationalism |
| Political position | Big tent |
| Colors | Blue |
| Slogan | "The Movement for the Cape" |
| Anthem | "National Chief March"[note 1] |
| National Stanera | 377 / 503
|
| National Auditorium | 22 / 28
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| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| www.rnp.rk | |
The Republican Nationalist Party (Cape Coscivian: Parduv Restarka Nationalista) is the founding and ruling political party of the Federacy of the Cape. The RNP currently holds 377 out of 503 (or 74.9%) seats in the National Stanera and has been the dominant-party of the republic since its re-establishment in 1951.
The RNP was founded as the Political Office of the National Revolutionary Army in 1896 during the Capetian War of Independence. Under Melvyn Kalma, the party was declared a political organization in 1897 and became the founding party of the Federacy of the Cape. It led a period of single-party rule until 1924, when it narrowly won its first free elections against the Communist Party. Following the invasion of the Cape by the Kingdom of Palastra in the Second Great War, the RNP was incorporated as the political wing of the resisting National Reclamation Government. Since the re-establishment of the republic and the party's refounding in 1951, it has won a ruling majority in every single parliamentary election - even post-democratization. Political scientists often classify the RNP as a "party of power" and as a "state party" - as, from even its name, ideology, and symbolism, the party has always been intrinsically linked to the very concept of the Capetian republic.
The RNP is the only Capetian party that practices intra-party democracy, with over 40% of Cape citizens voting in its quadrennial open primary elections, choosing candidates for both the Prime Executure and local representatives to the National Stanera. However, the Republican National Congress remains the highest body of the RNP. It is elected by the party's official members, chooses the first secretary, and approves candidates to compete for the Prime Executure.
The party's guiding ideology is Restarkism, described as welfarist, reformist, civic nationalist, and secularist. A primarily social liberal party, a majority of RNP politicians have voiced support for the feminist movement, LGBT rights, and racial equality. Although the RNP has no international affiliation, it maintains connections with a wide variety of parties and groups; from the Kiravian right-wing Coscivian National Congress to the parties of the Pelaxian left.
History
Organization
Ideology
The ideology of the Republican Nationalist Party is Restarkism; a series of four principles - nationalism, republicanism, judicialism, and reformism - developed by Melvyn Kalma. Though originally an ideology based on Occidentization and modernization, Restarkism has changed much throughout the 20th century, and today manifests as a civic nationalist, statist and secularist ideology.
Reformism in the Restarkist tradition has allowed the RNP to adopt a wide variety of ideologies from left, right, and centre - sometimes all at the same time. It has therefore been argued that the party has no ideology and is interested in what is pragmatic and what works. The relationship between ideology and policy in the party's governance is inductive in nature, with decision-making justifying ideology and not the other way around. Each generation of leadership since the 1992 Republic Day revolution, which led to the end of the party’s legal single party rule, has believed that the ideology of the pre-1992 RNP was “rigid, unimaginative, out-of-touch, disillusioning, and deserved of hate and overthrow by the people”. Therefore, they believe that party ideology must remain fluid and responsive to popular opinion.
Although the party has cycled through a variety of ideologies since its foundation, the ones that follow are the ones currently in use.
National democracy
National democracy refers to an ideology of guided democracy, where the RNP maintains power over the multiparty system through intra-party democracy and populism.
Capetian dirigism
- Reformed out of the idea of the Capetian autarky. The state directs, although no longer owns, major corporations, although ownership/control-through-subsidy for domestic production of essential goods is maintained. And to allow Capetian firms an advantage in the foreign markets. State mediates labour disputes, shares wealth of the dividends of its shares with the people.
- This means mandating a minimum wage, and providing essential services, so people can both have the money and financial security to spend.
Liberal vanguardism
- Only the RNP can protect the national revolution and the liberties of the people, even at the expense of democracy. Connected to Liberal Hawkism; which hopes to defend liberty everywhere and intervene on behalf of “oppressed nations”.
- A belief held mainly by RNP-Liberals.
Songun politics
- If the National Revolutionary Army, and its successor organization, the Cape Armed Forces are the vanguard and defender of the Constitution and the National Revolution; then it follows that the military must be prioritized in politics.
- The only deductive policy in the RNP's arsenal, where policy is grown out of ideology. The ideology that contributes to this view was born out of Kalma’s belief in the strength of the NRA to protect democracy.
Republican pragmatism
- Pragmatism grown out of the Restarkist reformism; interest should remain purely in increasing the standing of the Cape nation, whatever it is day-by-day.
- Rep. Pragmatists enter into conflict with Liberal Hawks, many are non-interventionist. Rep. Pragmatists are usually RNP-Nationalists.
Factions
Electoral history
See also
Notes and references
- ↑ The National Chief March remains the official anthem of the RNP, although it has been rarely played since the end of the one-party period. It is now considered as a broadly patriotic song commemorating Melvyn Kalma rather than a song associated with the party.