On October 29th, 2016 Iceland will hold a general election.
One of the most surprising political parties in this election is being hailed as the likely
next leading party: The Pirate Party.
Polling from April 2016, just following the Panama Papers scandal which ousted the country’s
Prime Minister, showed the Pirate Party with 43% support, an unprecedented amount for an
only four year old group.
So, just how powerful is the Pirate Party?
Well, the Pirate Party in Iceland is actually just one of a number of so-called Pirate Parties
around the world.
The original was named after “The Pirate Bay”, an online repository of torrents which
was publicly targeted by US copyright groups.
In response, a single issue party arose in Sweden, advocating for very limited copyright
protections in the interest of societal improvement, including unlimited non-commercial use and
a shorter period of exclusive economic copyright.
The so-called Swedish Pirate Party saw a lot of online support, and eventually was able
to petition to be listed on the ballot for national legislative elections.
Within just a few years, Pirate Party members were elected into Swedish Parliament, and
two Pirate Party members even made it into the European Parliament.
In Berlin Germany, their Pirate Party was able to secure 15 seats in state parliament.
Their success inspired a number of similar parties, branching past the single issue of
copyright, and all unified by what is called the “Core Policy”.
Each party has a similarly phrased number of policy points.
The first emphasizes “Critical thinking and well-informed policy”.
This encourages policy decisions on the basis of data and information, regardless of their
source or initial desirability.
The second branch secures the population’s civil rights.
These include the right for all people to vote, freedom of religion, expression, and
the press, as well as the right to engage in peaceful protests.
Third is a right to privacy, including anonymity and self-determination.
The party clarifies that secrecy should not be so great that it affects other individuals,
and that anonymity doesn’t mean people are not responsible for their actions.
On an aside, in 2013 the Icelandic Pirate Party attempted to introduce legislation which
would grant Edward Snowden citizenship, at a time when the US had revoked his passport.
The legislation was ultimately unsupported.
A fourth important portion of the core policy is to maintain transparency so that the powerless
can monitor the powerful.
This includes making information easily accessible, and allowing citizens a say in affairs that
involve them directly, including unlimited information related to those affairs.
The second to last point re-stresses freedom of information, but specifically to delineate
that the ability to collect and share information should only be overruled to protect individual
rights.
The same idea is applied to a freedom of expression.
Finally, the Pirate Party promotes a direct democracy, where voters are directly engaged
and involved in policy matters and electing public officials.
During an age of global surveillance, threats on freedom of expression, and an increasingly
opaque international web of governments, the Pirate Party’s success is not altogether
surprising.
Iceland’s tiny population of just over 300,000, allows it greater freedom to experiment with
alternative and new political theories.
Although small, the party’s activism roots and youth-oriented progressive ideas have
resonated with Icelandic voters.
Barring an unexpected defeat, Iceland may soon be run by a political offshoot of a torrent
website.
It is truly 2016.