Single-issue politics
Single-issue politics refers to the focus of political campaigns or advocacy groups on a single specific issue in order to raise awareness and influence legislation. Issues can vary widely, including topics like animal rights, marijuana legalization, or abortion. In the United States, many of these movements are represented by special interest groups, such as the National Rifle Association or Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which work to lobby politicians rather than run candidates themselves due to the challenges posed by the two-party system.
In contrast, countries with proportional representation systems may allow single-issue parties to gain seats in parliament based on the percentage of votes they receive, thereby directly influencing legislation. While single-issue politics can mobilize support for specific causes, it is often viewed as less effective in broader electoral contexts where coalition-building is necessary. Critics argue that an overly narrow focus can hinder comprehensive political discourse, as evidenced by instances in past elections where candidates have been labeled as single-issue candidates. Nonetheless, single-issue movements continue to play a significant role in keeping certain topics in the public eye, especially with the rise of social media facilitating grassroots campaigns.
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Single-issue politics
Single-issue politics refers to a political campaign or a political influence group that speaks about only one specific issue in order to garner attention for that issue. These issues run the political gamut, ranging from protection of animal rights to the legalization of marijuana to the outlawing of abortion on a state or federal level. In the United States, many single-issue political groups are not political parties but rather "special interest groups." Such groups include the National Rifle Association for gun ownership rights, Sierra Club for environmental protection, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving for legislation against alcohol and driving.
Background
In the United States, special interest groups do not usually run candidates, because, under the dominant two-party system, those candidates have little chance in being elected. Rather, special interest groups send lobbyists, who are individuals who attempt to influence and gain favor with politicians, to represent their issues with state and federal politicians. This strategy allows for single-issue political views to be represented in state and federal legislative discourse.
In other counties, particularly those under the parliamentary system of proportional representation, single-issue politics can be represented directly in campaigning and elections. This means that the percentage of voters that support a particular political party (not individual candidates) directly affects the number of seats that the political party gains in parliament. For example, if a political party receives 30 percent of the vote, then it would receive 30 percent of the seats in parliament. Once in government, that single-issue party can propose and influence laws that might not otherwise be enacted. For instance, the sovereigntist Scottish National Party, which secured eleven seats in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the mid-1970s, ultimately forced the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and voted for an independence referendum that was held in 2014.
Some single-issue political parties also adopt a broader range of issues over time to appeal to a wider base of voters. A prominent example of this is the Green Party, both in the United States and internationally. The Green Party takes on a broad range of topics aside from environmental protection and global climate change, such as democratization, economic development, and local investment.
Single-Issue Politics Today
Because political parties are usually organized as coalitions, bringing together a broad spectrum of issues, voters, and politicians, single-issue politics are thought not to work well on the campaign trail, especially in the United States. It is not necessarily politically realistic for political parties to unite under a single cause or cultural belief, as most voters do not vote solely on one issue (although Gallup polls from 1996 to 2012 found roughly 15 percent of US voters do decide presidential picks based on abortion views alone). Rather, some commentators such as British political adviser, activist, and author Neal Lawson believe that single-issue politics and parties have little impact on the political process individually and that coalition-building and pluralism in politics must become the norm.
While single-issue politics is not seen as politically expedient by many politicians, defining issues in politics can be seen as a way for parties to rally their members during a particular political race. For example, the 2016 Democratic presidential primary in the United States was dominated by discussion of income inequality and racial injustice. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton even claimed that her opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders, was in fact a single-issue candidate because of his focus on the corruption of Wall Street and big business and that, in underscoring that issue, he was overlooking such entrenched problems as racism, sexism, homophobia, union busting, and the need for immigration reform. There, as in many elections, single-issue politics was considered negatively as too narrow a line of thinking, one unable to handle the many complex problems that face a region or country.
Many political action groups and special interest groups still rely on single-issue politics to convey their messages and to make sure that certain topics stay politically relevant to politicians and voters with broader agendas. The Internet and social media have also been credited with a resurgence in grassroots single-issue political movements and campaigns in various countries.
Bibliography
Lawson, Neal. "The Failure of Politics Won’t Be Solved by Single-Issue Campaigners." Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 17 June 2013. Web. 25 Aug. 2016.
"National Special Interest Groups." Vote Smart. Project Vote Smart, 2016. Web. 25 Aug. 2016.
Saad, Lydia. "Abortion Is Threshold Issue for One in Six U.S. Voters." Gallup. Gallup, 4 Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Aug. 2016.
Stanley, Jason. "A Single Issue Candidate?" Princeton University Press Blog. Princeton U, 15 Mar. 2016. Web. 25 Aug. 2016.
Wheeler, Brian. "The Rise of Single Issue Campaigns." BBC News. BBC, 1 Feb. 2008. Web. 25 Aug. 2016.
Winship, Michael. "Maybe It IS a Single-Issue Election." Moyers & Company. Public Square Media, 19 Feb. 2016. Web. 25 Aug. 2016.