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Pirate Party
 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Map of elected pirates is heavily outdated. (October 2021) |
Pirate Party | |
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| Ideology | Pirate politics |
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Pirate Party is a label adopted by various political parties worldwide that share a set of values and policies focused on civil rights in the digital age.[1][2][3][4] The fundamental principles of Pirate Parties include freedom of information, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, digital rights and internet freedom. The first Pirate Party was founded in Sweden in 2006 by Rick Falkvinge initially named "Piratpartiet", and the movement has since expanded to over 60 countries.
Central to their vision is the defense of free access to and sharing of knowledge, and opposition to intellectual monopolies. They therefore advocate for copyright and patent laws reform, aiming to make them more flexible and fairer, foster innovation and balance creator' rights with public access to knowledge. Specifically, they support shorter copyright terms and promote open access to scientific research, educational resources, and courses.
Pirate parties are strong proponents of free and open-source software development. They recognize its inherent benefits: it provides freedom of use, modification and distribution, transparency to avoid unfair practices, global collaboration, innovation and cost reduction, and enhanced security through code verifiability. Net neutrality represents another key pillar: they advocate for equal access to the internet and oppose any attempts to restrict or prioritize internet traffic. They promote universal internet access, digital inclusion, and STEM and cybersecurity education to address digital divide. Equally crucial in their programs are public and private investments in R&D, tech startups, digital infrastructure, smart city technologies to optimize urban infrastructures, and robust cybersecurity measures to protect these systems from cyberattacks. Some Pirate parties also support universal basic income as a response to the economic challenges posed by advanced automation.
They think platform economy can be more equitable and more inclusive if it is based also on commons-based peer production and collaborative consumption, viewing technological innovations as part of the global digital commons—freely accessible to everyone. In contrast to many traditional political positions, Pirate parties reject cyber sovereignty and digital protectionism, advocating instead for the free flow of information across borders and the reduction of digital barriers between countries, while also reducing the influence of both corporate and state monopolies. Therefore, they argue that the internet should remain an open public space, free from restrictions, where people can access, create, and share content without fear of coercion. In terms of governance, Pirate Parties support the implementation of open e-government to enhance transparency, reduce costs, and increase the efficiency of decision-making processes. They propose a hybrid democratic model that integrates direct digital democracy (e-democracy) mechanisms with representative democratic institutions. This decentralised and participatory governance, known as collaborative e-democracy, aims to distribute participation and decision-making among citizens through digital tools, allowing them to directly influence public policies (e-participation). It also incorporates forms of AI-assisted governance, secure and transparent electronic voting systems, data-driven decision-making processes, evidence-based policies, technology assessments, and anti-corruption measures to strengthen democratic processes and prevent manipulation and fraud.
Furthermore, these parties strongly defend open-source, decentralized and privacy-enhancing technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies, peer-to-peer networks, messaging apps with end-to-end encryption, virtual private networks, private and anonymous browsers ecc. considering them essential tools to protect personal data, individual privacy and information security, both online and offline, against mass surveillance, data collection without consent, content censorship without due process, forced decryption, internet throttling or blocking, backdoor requirements in encryption, discriminatory algorithmic practices, unauthorized access to personal data, and the abuse of power by Big Tech.[5][6][7][8][9][10] Ultimately, protecting individual freedom is at the core of their political agenda, seen as a bulwark against the growing power of corporations and governments in controlling information and digital autonomy. This aligns perfectly with cyber-libertarian values and principles.[11]
While the name pirate party originally alluded to online piracy, members have made concerted efforts to connect pirate parties to all forms of piracy, from pirate radio to the Golden Age of Pirates. Pirate parties are often considered outside of the economic left–right spectrum or to have context-dependent appeal.[12]
- ^ Fredriksson, Martin (2015). "Piracy & Social Change| The Pirate Party and the Politics of Communication". International Journal of Communication. 9: 909–924. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ Jääsaari, Johanna; Šárovec, Daniel (2021). "Pirate Parties: The Original Digital Party Family". Digital Parties: The Challenges of Online Organisation and Participation. Cham: Springer. pp. 205–226. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-78668-7_11. ISBN 978-3-030-78668-7.
- ^ Almqvist, Martin Fredriksson (2016). "Piracy and the Politics of Social Media". Social Sciences. 5 (3): 41. doi:10.3390/socsci5030041.
- ^ Burkart, Patrick (2014). Pirate Politics: the New Information Policy Contests. Cambridge: The MIT Press. ISBN 9780262320146.
- ^ "About the PPI". Archived from the original on 20 June 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ Gerbaudo, Paolo (2019). The Digital Party: Political Organisation and Online Democracy. Pluto Press. ISBN 9780745335797. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ Beyer, Jessica L. (2014). "The Emergence of a Freedom of Information Movement: Anonymous, WikiLeaks, the Pirate Party, and Iceland". Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 19 (2): 141–154. doi:10.1111/jcc4.12050.
- ^ Hartleb, Florian (2013). "Anti-elitist cyber parties?". Journal of Public Affairs. 13 (4): 355–369. doi:10.1002/pa.1480. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ Fredriksson, Martin; Arvanitakis, James (2015). "Piracy, Property and the Crisis of Democracy". eJournal of EDemocracy and Open Government. 7 (1): 134–150. doi:10.29379/jedem.v7i1.365. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ Fredriksson, Martin (2015). "Piracy & Social Change| The Pirate Party and the Politics of Communication". International Journal of Communication. 9: 909–924. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ Dahlberg, Lincoln (2017). "Cyberlibertarianism". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.70. ISBN 978-0-19-022861-3. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ Simon, Otjes (22 January 2019). "All on the same boat? Voting for pirate parties in comparative perspective". Political Studies Association. 40 (1). SAGE Publishing: 38–53. doi:10.1177/0263395719833274. hdl:1887/85286. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023.
This indicates that instead of not appealing along left-right lines at all, pirate party's left-right appeal is context-dependent. Moreover, it is more closely related to sympathy for these parties than to party choice'. (Page 49)
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