Talk:New World Alliance

Why and how I initiated this article

Five years ago, I substantially contributed to an article about a political writer and activist that was eventually designated a Featured Article (FA) here; see the Mark Satin bio. One of the projects Satin had been involved in was a notable 1970s–1980s political organization called the New World Alliance. I noted that Wikipedia did not have an article about the Alliance.

Last year I discovered something surprising: There is no FA on Wikipedia about any national political party or organization, past or present. (To verify, click on Wikipedia:Featured Articles and scroll through the "Politics" and "Culture and Society" sections there.)

So I took that as a challenge. I decided to initiate an article about the New World Alliance that might someday be considered FA-worthy.

Part of my research involved reading some Wikipedia articles about other national political organizations, past and present. I wanted to see why those articles had fallen short of being FAs, even when they were generally excellent. I came up with the following 12-point list, and it guided me in drafting the Alliance article:

1. Don't produce what is, in effect, an advertisement for the organization! – I tried to avoid that not just by maintaining what I felt was an objective tone, and by avoiding indulgent clutter, but by providing a substantial amount of material critical of the Alliance; see the third paragraph of the introduction and most of the "Assessments" section.

2. Don't rely on only a couple of published sources! – No problem here.

3. Don't interpret primary sources (I.e., avoid original research, see WP:OR)! – A constant temptation, but I did not succumb. I did mention some online primary sources in the "External links" section, so viewers who care to delve into them can do so.

4. Don't take political commentators' statements as if they were gospel truth! – This is one of the easiest traps to fall into in an article about a political organization. Few, if any, commentators – including political scientists – are wholly objective when it comes to political organizations. I dealt with this by often indicating, in the text, exactly whose observations I was citing.

5. Do say something about the organization's historical context! - See the first paragraph under the sub-head "A 'transformational' politics," and see Note #1 as well.

6. Do clarify the organization's political perspective! – The first section after the introduction is devoted to the Alliance's "transformational" political perspective.

7. Do explain why and how the organization started! – There are several sub-sections devoted to the Alliance's origins.

8. Do say something about what the organization actually did! – There's a sub-section devoted to "Projects."

9. Do acknowledge that the organization has an inner life, not just a public face! – There's a sub-section devoted to "Structure and process."

10. Do (if applicable) try to explain why the organization dissolved! – Much of the "Assessments" section is concerned with that.

11. Do recognize that history doesn't stop after an organization dissolves! – The end of an organization doesn't necessarily spell the end of the efforts of the people behind it. Aftermath is important – and revealing. I devote an "Aftermath" section to this often-ignored aspect of political organizing.

12. Do include pictures, more than one or two if possible! – I found eight good ones.

So that's what I was trying for here. - Babel41 (talk) 03:13, 10 May 2016 (UTC)

Message from Wikipedia new-page control

Thanks for creating New World Alliance, Babel41!

Wikipedia editor VQuakr just reviewed your page, and wrote this note for you:

Fascinating article; thanks!

Have copied this message from the Babel41 talk page. - Babel41 (talk) 22:18, 10 May 2016 (UTC)