In many other countries, too, there is a sense that politics has mutated since the 1960s from an activity organised largely around parties to one organised around specialised interest groups on the one hand (such as America's gun lobby) and broader protest and social movements on the other (such as the women's movement, environmentalism and consumerism).

ECONOMIST: POLITICS BRIEF

Political parties are organised along ethnic or sectarian lines, and represent the city's Urdu-speakers, Sindhis, Baloch, Pashtuns and Barelvi Sunnis.

ECONOMIST: Violence in Karachi

The street parties have not been organised by the council.

BBC: Generic Mardi Gras picture

In the Spanish capital, Madrid, thousands of young people gathered at six indoor "macro-parties" the authorities had organised in big venues across the city.

BBC: New Year's Eve 2012: Celebrations around the world

Only 12% of the injuries happened at organised public displays - most were at private parties or in accidents in the street.

BBC: Fireworks warning for teenagers