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Why Do Political Parties Exist? Who Is the Party?

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Why Do Political Parties Exist? Who Is the Party? Why Parties? What/who is a political party? What do political parties do? Why do political parties exist? Who is the Party? • Members • Identifiers • Elected Officials • Organizations Classic “Tripartite” Distinction • Parties as Organizations • Parties in the Electorate • Parties in Government Activities/Functions • Field candidates for public office • Organize caucuses, primaries, and conventions to conduct party business • Organize legislative activity to coordinate work of their elected members • Develop public policies • Articulate a platform and/or ideology for governing • Inform and mobilize members of the electorate Normative View: Why We Need Parties? • Diverse Coalitions that override particular interests. • Provide Collective Responsibility. • Ease Task of Voters. • Responsible Party Government: – Complex system requires cohesive parties. – Drawbacks? Positive Views: Why We Have Parties… ….Or Why Politicians Create Parties: – Overcome ambitious office-seekers problem – Overcome social choice problems in decision- making bodies – Overcome collective action problems in elections Electoral Rules & Party Fortunes Defining Party Systems Explaining Party Systems What is a Party System? • “Party System” as a Pattern of Party Competition – Describes a country by the number and character of its parties – May be irrespective of identities of parties • “Party System” as a Particular Time Period – Describes a political era by the nature of its party competition – Primarily concerned with identity of parties & balance of power – Examples • First, Second, Third, etc., American Party Systems • Jacksonian Party System • New Deal Party System What Kinds of Party Systems Exist? • Two-Party System (US, UK, New Zealand) • Two-and-a-half Party Systems (Canada, Germany, Australia) • Multiparty System – With one large party (Norway, Sweden) – With two large parties (Israel, Italy) – With even parties (France, Netherlands, Belgium, Russia) • Predominant Party System (Japan) • One-Party “Democracy” (Mexico – until late 1990s) • One-Party Non-democracy (China, Soviet Union) Why Do We Get These Party Systems? • Why Are There Party “Systems”? – Why do systems tend to be stable? • Why Does the U.S. Have a Two-Party System? – Democrats versus Republicans • Why Do Other Countries Have Their Systems? Explanations of Party Systems: Early Views Social Cleavages and Voter Alignments – Party systems are product of centuries of social conflict • Modernization produces social cleavages • Cleavages produce social conflict – Some examples • Center-periphery; state-church; land-industry; owner-worker – Critiques • View sees little effect of institutions or politicians • Model is static and frozen Explanations of Party Systems: Early Views Duverger’s Law and Electoral Institutions – Maurice Duverger, Political Parties – Law: single member district (SMD) plurality systems produce a two-party system • Mechanical factor: additional parties find it hard to win seats • Psychological factor: voters don’t want to “waste vote” • Converse perspective: Proportional representation (PR) and second- ballot systems encourage multiplication of parties – Complicating Factors or Criticisms • Inconsistent cases 12 • Social cleavages may shape number of parties & electoral rules Explanations of Party Systems: Later Views • E. E. Schattschneider (The Semisovereign People) – Politics Matters: The Construction of Party Conflict • Gary Cox (Making Votes Count) – Strategic Coordination Matters – Interaction of Electoral Institutions & Social Structure – Electoral Permissiveness + Social Heterogeneity = More Parties – Two-Party System results from either: • Stringent Electoral System • Few Social Cleavages Patterns of Party Systems Overview of the Arguments Two Party Systems Causes: Single-Member Districts, Plurality Rule (AKA: First Past the Post) Consequences: Moderate and Centralize Influence Effective Executive in Parliamentary System Simple Choice for Voters between Two Programs Majority Party Has More Power and Responsibility Multiparty System Causes: Proportional Representation Consequences: Offers Voters More Distinct Choices Accommodates More Than One Issue Dimension Allows Expressive Voice and Inclusive Representation Schattschneider: A positive argument? • What is he arguing against? • What is scope? • Do parties arise out of need to regulate scope? • How do cleavages arise?.
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