Political Parties Driven: The Global South and Enabling Governance

On 12 October 2025, I participated online to a forum titled: « Political Parties Driven: The Global South and Enabling Governance ».

The event was jointly organized by Wenhui Daily of the Shanghai United Media Group, the Center for Party Building and Social Development Studies at Shanghai University, and the university’s School of Marxism.

It forms part of the "Wenhui Forum" series aimed at fostering cross-civilizational dialogue and advancing comparative research on governance in the Global South.

This is the report established by the organizing committee, that includes some of my contributions to the discussion.

Southern Wisdom and Western Challenges in Global Party Governance

Sciences Po Professor Olivier Costa Joins China’s Wenhui Daily Forum Online

As the global political landscape undergoes rapid transformation and party systems across nations experience profound shifts, on October 12, Professor Olivier Costa of the CEVIPOF (Centre for Political Research) at Sciences Po, Paris, was recently invited to join the Wenhui Daily’s "Wenhui Forum" for an online roundtable dialogue.

Professor Costa exchanged views with several Chinese scholars on the theme of "Party-Driven Development and Empowerment-Based Governance", and engaged in lively interaction with both in-person and online audiences. The discussion featured sharp exchanges and rich intellectual collisions, revealing both shared understandings and divergent perspectives between Chinese and foreign scholars in the study of political parties.

Party-Driven Modernization: Convergence and Divergence Between the Global South and the West

The first session focused on the role of party leadership in national modernization.

Chinese scholars emphasized that political parties are the nerve center of a nation’s political life, determining its direction in domestic governance, diplomacy, and socio-economic development. While party politics has become a global phenomenon, its concrete forms vary widely—from the multi-party complexity of Southeast Asia to the shifting dynamics in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Professor Costa argued that comparing party systems in the Global South and the West helps reveal both universal functions and structural challenges. Despite differences in institutions, electoral systems, and media relations, he noted that parties everywhere perform similar roles: organizing elections, integrating interests, selecting elites, and overseeing governance.

"Across Europe, Africa, and Latin America, we are witnessing a trend toward leader-centered politics," Costa observed. "Media exposure and social platforms have intensified the personalization of power."

He added that while parties in the Global South often remain engines of socio-economic transformation, those in the West are increasingly fragmented and weakened.

"In France, there are 11 groups in parliament that can hardly reach consensus on any issue. Likewise, the eight groups in the European Parliament are deeply divided. In France, the loss of social consensus has made normal party politics nearly impossible."

Chinese scholars responded that the effectiveness of party-driven governance depends on institutional stability and a strong sense of mission. They argued that China’s long-term governing capacity, under the Communist Party of China (CPC), enables policy continuity and sustained modernization, whereas Western party rotation often leads to policy reversals and social fragmentation.

Despite different perspectives, both sides agreed that political parties remain the decisive variable in achieving modernization.

Empowerment-Based Governance: A Consensus on Mission-Oriented and Developmental Parties

The second discussion turned to the concept of empowerment-based governance.

Chinese scholars suggested that 21st-century governance should evolve "from empowerment to enablement." Empowerment, they argued, is not merely about granting formal rights, but about cultivating substantive capacities—political parties should empower society through ideals, organization, and institutional design.

Professor Costa emphasized that the ability of parties to "empower" society hinges on their capacity to integrate diverse social interests and transform them into coherent public policies.

"In countries such as South Africa, India, Brazil, and Indonesia, political parties have indeed facilitated modernization through electoral and policy mechanisms," he said. "Yet in others, excessive personalization and patronage politics have undermined policy continuity."

He highlighted that in relatively advanced southern countries such as China, parties have significantly enhanced policy coordination and efficiency—an experience that merits further study.

Chinese scholars added that in China’s practice, empowerment reflects the two-way interaction between the Party, government, market, and society. Through shared ideals, strong organization, and institutional synergy, China has built a model of "strong government and strong market," forming a virtuous cycle where empowered citizens and markets, in turn, strengthen governance capacity.

Both sides ultimately agreed that development remains the greatest common denominator of empowerment-based governance. As Costa put it, development is the key domain in which Global South parties can build consensus and cooperation.

Mutual Learning Among Parties: New Directions in South–South Cooperation

When discussing whether parties in the Global South could achieve mutual learning through dialogue, Costa noted that political parties are playing an increasingly important role in international relations. Over the past decade, he observed three major trends:

-       Party diplomacy has become more active, with the CPC, South Africa’s ANC, Brazil’s Workers’ Party, and India’s BJP developing extensive transnational ties.

-       Regional party networks have expanded, such as the Socialist International and Centrist Democrat International, which are vibrant across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

-       South–South cooperation has deepened, with left-leaning parties sharing narratives around anti-colonialism, distributive justice, and social equity.

He stressed that inter-party cooperation is not merely political exchange but also a manifestation of soft power. Parties can learn from one another in digital communication, participatory democracy, and policy innovation. "Each party should establish an international cooperation department and seek observer status in major multilateral organizations to contribute to a more multipolar world," he said.

Chinese scholars responded that the CPC has consistently promoted equal and respectful party-to-party diplomacy. By the end of 2024, the CPC maintained regular ties with over 700 political parties and organizations across more than 170 countries. Inter-party learning has become practical action rather than academic theory—from the China–CELAC Party Forum and BRICS Party Dialogue to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization exchanges. Notably, Xi Jinping’s book Up and Out of Poverty has become required reading in political training sessions across Africa and Latin America—an example of tangible, shared learning.

Audience Interaction: From Europe’s Crisis to New Global South Agendas

In the Q&A session, a PhD student from Fudan University asked whether Europe could once again achieve "empowerment-based governance" through its party system. Costa replied candidly that while European integration was born from party cooperation, it is now endangered by party fragmentation. "The rise of far-right populism has deeply shaken European unity. The collapse of consensus threatens the very survival of European integration," he warned.

Another participant asked about emerging themes in Global South cooperation. Chinese scholars pointed to several high-priority issues: poverty reduction, climate change, AI-enabled development, and cultural diversity. The Global South, they said, is "grounded in pragmatic development yet aspiring to a shared future for humanity."

On reconciling technological rationality with governance values, both sides agreed that technology must serve human welfare: "AI should empower people, not replace them."

Parties and Modernization: Lessons from Comparison

The dialogue reached its most dynamic moment when discussing why the CPC demonstrates stronger mobilization capacity. Chinese scholars explained that China’s political system—anchored in long-term party leadership and strategic planning—enables sustained policy execution. In contrast, frequent electoral turnover in the West leads to inconsistency. As one scholar noted, a well-known observation once remarked that "China can plan for the next generation, while the United States can only plan for the next election."

Costa concurred that China’s high level of political organization and policy coherence indeed illustrates "effective governance" and offers meaningful insights for developing nations. "While each country’s context differs," he concluded, "our shared question is how parties can truly become empowering actors within governance."