If ossified parties are to have any kind of plausible democratic future they need to learn from social movements. Perhaps some parties that have their roots in social movements can do this, before they too become institutionalized, bureaucratic and retentive of power.

NOTE: This completely free trial subscription will start with the special issue on Democracy, plus you'll receive the following three issues free of charge, and there's no obligation to continue as a subscriber after that. Current disillusion with party politics reminds us that democracy is not a static entity or set of rules but, rather, a process. It may not even have an achievable end in the sense of 'the ideal democratic society' - but as with equality, the process of working towards it makes things better.

Disenchantment with politics

Enchantment is what happens to princesses in fairy tales. Disenchantment is the beginning of wakefulness, the beginning of empowerment, the beginning of hope.

Learning from social movements

Simply adopting the language of social movements isn't going to fool anyone, but if political parties learn from them it could nourish democracy and enable it to grow into something stronger, more vibrant, engaging and mature.

Arundhati Roy - princess to pariah

Arundhati Roy's fierce critiques of Indian democracy have made her public enemy number one. But her story is that of contemporary India itself.

Robert Fisk - we preach democracy yet befriend dictators

We only have ourselves to blame for the Middle East's cynicism, says Robert Fisk.

Try a subscription to get the full picture

But this brief summary doesn't do justice to this inspirational magazine on the battle to re-invigorate democracy. To get the full picture, please be sure to read this special issue of the New Internationalist magazine.

Argument on sale of human organs.

Issue #436 of the New Internationalist magazine also includes: Is it ever right to buy or sell human organs? The global shortage of organ donations has spawned illegal and unregulated organ markets. We asked two experts - Sally Satel and Jeremy Chapman - to argue the case for and against trading in organs.

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