In the article “Socio-Partisan Activism: Democratizing Political Representation,” published in the journal Colombia Internacional, researcher Debora Rezende de Almeida (Resocie/INCT Participa) proposes the concept of sociopartisan activism to explain how activists simultaneously connect to political parties and social movements, and under what conditions this dual engagement can strengthen the democratization of political representation.
By shifting the analytical focus from organizations to activists themselves, the text innovates by moving beyond the view that rigidly separates “movements” and “parties” as distinct spheres.
This approach makes it possible to visualize more fluid, continuous interactions integrated into everyday political practices, revealing the heterogeneity and internal disputes within parties, as well as the plurality of the associational field.
Based on extensive qualitative research on collective mandates in Brazil, the article shows how activists transfer practices, knowledge, and repertoires into legislative spaces, contesting political representation from within institutions.
The study argues that everyday interaction between the streets and parliament can revitalize representative democracy, although its effects depend on factors such as party organization, programmatic affinities, and micro-level internal relations within parties.
Although focused on the Brazilian case, the article offers broader contributions to debates on the relationship between parties and social movements and on party democratization, placing central emphasis on the relationships built between parties, the public, and civil society.
Interação cotidiana entre ruas e parlamento pode revitalizar a democracia representativa. Foto: @katortorelli/@chama.rede
