manifesto

In politics, the published prospectus of a party, setting out the policies that the party will pursue if elected to govern. When elected to power a party will often claim that the contents of its manifesto constitute a mandate to introduce legislation to bring these policies into effect. In an unprecedented move, the Labour Party in 1996 put its manifesto to a pre-election ballot of its membership.

In art, a manifesto is a document setting out the aims and aspirations of an artistic movement. For example, the Futurists and the surrealists published manifestos.

Originally a manifesto meant a public declaration of war by a prince, explaining his or her motives. It was published within his or her own territory and communicated to other states through the channels of diplomacy.

The term is now used in politics as a statement of policy or political theory (for example Peel's Tamworth Manifesto 1835 and the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels 1848). Nowadays, before an election political parties usually issue a manifesto in which they outline the policies they advocate. In some countries, such as the USA and Canada, the manifesto is known as the ‘party platform’.