Political Parties

11 Key excerpts on "Political Parties"

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  State and Local Politics

  Institutions and Reform

  • Todd Donovan, Daniel Smith, Tracy Osborn, Christopher Mooney(Authors)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  Parties come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and political flavors, and their respective influence within a state varies widely. At their most rudi-mentary level, parties allow individuals to come together periodically to articulate a political view-point. Beyond aggregating and advancing citizen concerns, parties help to cultivate and nurture political leaders, mobilize citizens to vote, orga-nize governments, and formulate public policy. 2 As rational actors, parties have a reflexive quality to their workings. Parties are shaped by other politi-cal institutions; in turn, they are able to shape and reform the political institutions under which they operate. In this chapter, we examine this dynamic, reflexive process by focusing on the functions and responsibilities of Political Parties. Understanding Political Parties Political Parties serve multiple functions. Parties may be rightly understood as one of the principal agencies for “aggregating and mobilizing the inter-ests of vast numbers of citizens, enhancing voters’ capacity to hold public officials accountable, acting as agents of political socialization, and organizing the decision-making institutions of government.” 3 Parties recruit candidates running for office, over-see the nominations of those candidates, and pro-vide a durable link between citizens and their governments. Less clear is whether a party needs to be ideologically coherent or merely functional in order to truly be understood as a party. 4 1 Sarah Morehouse and Malcolm Jewell, State Politics, Parties, and Policy , 2nd ed. (Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003), p. 15. 2 David Hedge, Governance and the Changing American States (Boulder, CO: Westview, 1998). 3 John Bibby and Thomas Holbrook, “Parties and Elections, ” in Virginia Gray and Russell Hanson, eds., Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis , 8th ed.

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  Understanding Third World Politics

  Theories of Political Change and Development

  • Brian Smith(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Red Globe Press

    (Publisher)

  Defining a political party is difficult, especially in the Third World, because of the immense variety to be found. However, a satisfactory defi-nition is that parties are: associations formally organized with the explicit and declared purpose of acquiring and/or maintaining legal control, either singly or in coali-tion or electoral competition with other similar associations, over the 103 personnel and the policy of the government of an actual or prospective sovereign state. (Coleman and Rosberg, 1964: 2) It is easier to classify what Third World parties do than provide a definition that will encompass all manifestations of them. Classification is also easier than explanation of change in party system and organization: two issues to be explored later. The main classifications to be used by political science have been based on functions, ideology, and party system. Typologies have also been formed from a combination of these factors. The functions of Political Parties Political Parties in developing countries perform a number of roles (Coleman and Rosberg, 1964; LaPalombara and Weiner, 1966; Randall, 1988; Cammack et al ., 1993). First, they can, in some circumstances, endow regimes with legitimacy by providing ideologies, leadership, or opportunities for political participation, or a combination of all three. By providing a means of peaceful political succession within a competitive party system, they legitimize the authority of government based on mass participation and representation (Yanai, 1999). In competitive situations, parties permit a degree of rotation of power among the different elites which they sustain. Second, they can act as a medium for political recruitment , perhaps simultaneously creating opportunities for upward social mobility. In devel-oping countries, Political Parties provide the most important civilian route into a political career. Within certain ideological perspectives, parties perform a different kind of recruitment role.

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  Politics and Society in Western Europe

  • Jan-Erik Lane, Svante Ersson(Authors)
  • 1998(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  3 Political Parties Political Parties may be seen as inte n nediaries between civil society and the state with its political decision-making and policy implementation in gov-ernment structures. Tocquevil le wrote: Civil associations, therefore, facilitate political associations; but, on the other hand, political associations singularly strengthen and improve associations for civil purposes. (Tocqueville, 1990: II, 1 15) In politica l systems characterized by representative government Political Parties are the principal vehicles for political action. Interacting with citizens' and interest organizations, parties express and organize politica l demand and support in relation to social cleavages; parties recruit govern-ment decision-makers whose behaviour has a profound impact upon society by means of the implementation by bureaucracies of government decisions and actions. Party government is characteristic of democracy in large-scale polities. Not even small Switzerland with its tradition of direct democracy in numerous referendums can do without Political Parties and governments recruited by them. If the electorate were to decide on each and every issue by means of a referendum, then the transaction costs would be over-whelming. It is no wonder that the study of politica l parties has attracted the attention of political sociologists. In the words of Blondel: Political Parties are thus one of the most fascinating as well as most mode m institutions of political life. They are multiform and they are at the crossroads between the institutional and behavioural aspects of politics. (Blondel, 1 969: 22 1 ) The fact that modern democracy in the fon n of representative government has proved to be the only viable institutional framework for the exercise of popular will does not prove the existence of party systems al l over Western Europe. Politica l parties may be regarded as organized collectivities capable of intentional action in order to promote their own interests.

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  African Political Parties

  Evolution, Institutionalisation and Governance

  • M. A. Mohamed Salih(Author)
  • 2003(Publication Date)
  • Pluto Press

    (Publisher)

  11 Political Parties and Government Petr Kopecky ´ and Peter Mair The minimal definition of party, originally specified in Sartori’s classic study (1976, p. 64), states that a party is ‘any political group that presents at elections, and is capable of placing through elections, candidates for public office’. Sartori’s definition serves two useful purposes. On the one hand, it is precise enough to distinguish Political Parties from other societal and political groups, such as interest groups or associations of civil society, in that it is only parties that participate in elections. To enter the electoral process is therefore to become a party. On the other hand, it is broad enough to include all potential parties, whether in non-competitive single-party regimes or in competitive multi-party regimes, for whatever else they might do, all such parties will seek to place their own nominees in positions in public office. For our purposes, it is also this element which is the most relevant in Sartori’s definition, for it is this element that establishes an intimate link between Political Parties and public office, that is, between parties and the state, or between parties and government. Moreover, it is precisely this link that has so often been underestimated in the traditional literature on parties and party systems. For most scholars, particularly when working within the more conven-tional Western traditions, parties are usually thought of in social terms – that is, they are usually associated with the society end of the state–society divide. Parties in this sense are seen as essentially representative agencies, oriented towards giving voice to their particular constituencies and deriving their legitimacy from their capacity to articulate their voters’ interests and to aggregate their demands.

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  The Fates of Political Parties

  Institutional Crisis, Continuity, and Change in Latin America

  • Jennifer Cyr(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  9 Increasingly, the party literature is theorizing the role of parties in subnational government. The nature of inter-party competition, for example, may differ radically between different levels of government (Deschouwer 2003; Gibson and Suárez-Cao 2010; Freidenberg and Suárez-Cao 2014), opening up elec- toral opportunities for nationally struggling parties to compete in local elections. Parties also aggregate, represent, and channel the interests of citizens (Luna and Zechmeister 2005; Sartori 1976). They are the institutional 7 Some parts of this section were originally published in Comparative Politics (Cyr 2016a) and have been reprinted with the journal’s permission. 8 This section provides an overview of what parties do, in theory, to make democracy work. Therefore, it uses the term “party” or “parties” to reference the institution in a theoretical sense. It therefore sets aside the observation that parties operate in quite different ways in practice, and that some (or many) parties do not actually fulfill their proposed functions in the real world. 9 Sartori (1976) speaks of relevant parties. Laver and Schofield (1998) address “pivotal” parties in coalition formation and maintenance. See also Siaroff (2003) and Bolleyer (2007). 30 The Fates of Political Parties bridge that links citizens to the state. This representative function may be most easily fulfilled where parties offer clear, programmatic alternatives to voters (Lawson 1980; Stokes and Miller 1963). In practice, however, ideological distinctions among parties may be weak. Linkages with society are more diverse. Parties may cultivate clientelistic or personalist ties, or different ties across groups or sectors (Luna 2014; Roberts 2003). Parties may also impact broader societal perspectives on policy. Recent literature has underscored a party’s agenda-shaping and agenda-setting role.

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  Ideas of Power

  The Politics of American Party Ideology Development

  • Verlan Lewis(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  However, this book shows that the reverse is also true: 25 Institutional arrangements and the interests of individuals help determine how communities choose and shape their ideologies or “public philoso- phy” (Lowi 1969, Beer 1978). This chapter outlines a political institutional theory of American party ideology development focusing on party control of government institu- tions. The subsequent empirical chapters demonstrate that alternating party control of government institutions has a significant influence on how party ideologies evolve. 1 Before articulating this theory, it will be useful here to define the terms “political party,” “ideology,” and “party ideology” as they are used throughout the rest of the book.     ,   ,    The conceptual definitions of parties and ideologies used in this book draw upon a long line of social science scholarship. A political party is a team of individuals “seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election” (Downs 1957). 2 Parties are not only a team of individuals, but they are also organizations. They are political institutions created and transformed by politicians, partisan activists, and ambitious office seekers and officeholders (Aldrich 1995). 3 Parties are not only teams of individuals and organizations, but they are also diverse “coalitions of groups with intense preferences on issues managed by politicians” (Karol 2009). These politicians aggregate and articulate the preferences, attitudes, and ideas of the groups in their coalition (Key 1964, 22). Thus, parties are constituted in government, 1 Of course, party control of government is not the only factor.

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  Inside the Campaign Finance Battle

  Court Testimony on the New Reforms

  • Anthony Corrado, Thomas E. Mann, Trevor Potter, Anthony Corrado, Thomas E. Mann, Trevor Potter(Authors)
  • 2004(Publication Date)
  • Brookings Institution Press

    (Publisher)

  Among the varied set of political actors in American life, the party organization remains uniquely the ongoing operation that serves the interests of more than a single candidate or set of issues. It is the core “node” in a partisan network that extends from elected officials to candidate organizations, party-allied groups, campaign consultants, and ultimately, the voters. As such, these organizations serve an important function in coordinating party messages, supporting campaigns, and building large coalitions. Parties are an essential institution for promoting political competition, which is a sine qua non of democracy. In a healthy party system, when the party candidates experience defeat at the polls, the party organization assumes responsibility for evaluating the loss, for developing new strate-gies, and for marshaling resources to win future elections. 1 As the most rec-ognizable organization within an extended party network, an active party committee that coordinates political activities augments accountability in 70 Political Parties: academic experts an American electoral system that is highly decentralized among numerous candidate committees and political action committees. To maintain strong organizations, the parties need to engage in general party building during election and nonelection years. By “party building” I mean efforts to strengthen the capacity of the party organization to per-form its traditional functions. These include year-round fund-raising, recruiting and training candidates, researching and crafting campaign themes, identifying and mobilizing voters, and educating the public about policy issues. Party building does not include acting as a financial conduit for individual candidates to funnel money into their campaigns. Political Parties at every level work together toward common goals. While American party committees have considerable autonomy, they rely on each other for information and resources.

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  Party Government

  American Government in Action

  • E. Schattschneider(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Chapter III What Is a Political Party?

  The Types of Political Organizations

  BROADLY , there are two fundamental types of political organizations, Political Parties and pressure groups. In the United States it is necessary to distinguish a third type, the minor party, which differs from the major party or the real party more fundamentally than in size, merely. That is, the minor party is not a smaller edition of a real party; it is not a party at all. Leaving minor parties for later examination, we shall find it necessary first to distinguish between Political Parties and pressure groups, the two principal types. The distinction between these types is fundamental, and if it is not made clear it will be impossible to understand either parties or pressure groups.

  Parties

  What is a political party? A party may be defined in terms of its purpose and in terms of the methods used to attain its purpose. A political party is first of all an organized attempt to get power. Power is here defined as control of the government. That is the objective of party organization. The fact that the party aims at control of the government as a whole distinguishes it from pressure groups. The fact that the major party bids for power at all distinguishes it from minor parties whose interest in power is too remote to have a determinative effect on their behavior.

  The life of the parties revolves about the present possession of power or the bid for power, a bid made with a reasonable expectation that it will be successful at an early date. Only when an organization is in control of the government or is able to create and maintain a widespread expectation that it will take over the government soon does it become a major party or a real party. One does not whistle up a party at will, therefore, or make a party by calling something a party. Whether or not a given political organization is a real party is a question of fact. Does it in fact have control of the government or has it in fact been able to create a general belief that it will take control of the government at a date early enough to be so exciting and serious as to determine the behavior of the people who are participating in the adventure? Since control of a government is one of the most important things imaginable, it follows that a real party is one of the most significant organizations in society.

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  American Government

  Institutions and Policies, Brief Version

  • James Wilson, John Dilulio, Meena Bose, Matthew Levendusky(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  When a party gives a donation to a candidate, they are signaling to other donors—individuals, interest groups, political action committees, and so forth—that this is a high-quality candidate whom they should support. A donation from a party, while not much in dollar amounts, can be a powerful signal to other donors. 20 Parties as Organizations Since Political Parties exist at the national, state, and local levels, you might suppose they are arranged like a big corporation—with a national boar d of directors giving orders to state managers, who in turn direct the activities of rank-and-file workers at the county and city level. For better or for worse, that is not the case. The various levels are indepen -dent of one another, and while they do coordinate for some activities, as we have seen, there is no kind of top-down, hierarchical system in place. The national Democratic and Republican Parties are structured quite similarly. In both parties, ultimate authority is in the hands of the national convention that meets every four years to nominate a presidential candidate. Between IMAGE 7-4 Democratic volunteers conduct a voter registration drive during the 2012 election. John Moore/Getty Images national convention national committee congressional campaign committee national chair Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300 130 Cha pter 7 P olitical Parties and Interestuni00A0Groups P P often political machines , as we discussed earlier in the chapter. Political machines are party organizations that recruit their members using tangible incentives—money, political jobs, an opportunity to get favors from government—and are characterized by a high degree of leadership control over mem -ber activity. At one time, many local party organizations were machines, and the struggle over political jobs (patronage) was their members’ chief concern.

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  Republic at Risk

  An Introduction to American Politics

  • Walter J. Stone, James A. McCann(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  Dispersal of power under- mines collective responsibility because no one claims credit for failures and all claim responsibility for success. This threatens to sever the electoral process from the governmental process. Candidates for office have incentives to prom- ise more than they can deliver because they can always point to others’ failures when government cannot fulfill its promises. Electoral democracy is possible only when voters can cast a self- interested vote without expending much effort or other resources. Voting itself is inexpensive, and voters are often motivated to pay the minimal costs because of a sense of duty or because of the excitement of a campaign. According to party theory, Political Parties are the best means to mobilize the electorate and to promote individual and collective responsibility. Madison constructed and defended a government designed to frustrate Political Parties seeking to build national majorities and win control of government. Given the chance, party theorists would reform government to eliminate many of the barriers to party control. Since they recognize they cannot rewrite the Constitution, their program in the US focuses on how best to strengthen parties so that they can function within a system designed to thwart them. WHY ARE PARTIES ESSENTIAL TO REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY? The short answer is that Political Parties help solve a number of collective- action problems that, if left unsolved, would undermine, weaken, or even destroy representative democracy. The problems parties help solve are 112 Political Parties critical to democracy because they uniquely bridge the relationship between the public and government. Parties serve this broad function in democracies not because they are altruistic or even because they see themselves as keepers of the flame of democracy. According to John Aldrich (Aldrich 1995), parties were formed and persist because they serve the interests of the politicians who seek and hold elective office.

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  A History of the U.S. Political System

  Ideas, Interests, and Institutions [3 volumes]

  • Richard A. Harris, Daniel J. Tichenor, Richard A. Harris, Daniel J. Tichenor(Authors)
  • 2009(Publication Date)
  • ABC-CLIO

    (Publisher)

  the party label is a meaningful predictor of a candi- date’s policy positions. In addition, from the late 1970s, we have seen the blurring of the lines between electoral and ordinary politics as the result of institutionalization of the permanent campaign. More externally, campaign resources such as money and electioneering energy increasingly come from sources with an ideological bent. As a consequence of these changes, the parties have become more internally homogenous and more externally differentiated. While on their own, these trends have helped voters to see more clearly the policy differences between the parties, increased capacity in the media has been instrumental in helping the mass public to better appreciate these policy differences and to identify with, and vote for, parties on the basis of those differences. References and Further Reading Belknap, G., and Campbell, A. 1952. ‘‘Political Party Identifi- cation and Attitudes toward Foreign Policy.’’ Public Opin- ion Quarterly, 15(4): 601--623. Bibby, J. F. 2003. Politics, Parties, and Elections in America. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Blumenthal, S. 1980. The Permanent Campaign: Inside the World of Elite Political Operatives. Boston: Beacon Press. Budge, I. 1993. ‘‘Parties, Programs and Policies: A Compara- tive and Theoretical Perspective.’’ The American Review of Politics, 14, 695--716. Campbell, A., and Miller, W. E. 1957. ‘‘The Motivational Basis of Straight and Split Ticket Voting.’’ The American Political Science Review, 51(2): 293--312. Christman, R. B. 1982. ‘‘A Review of Party Reform Literature. The Western Political Quarterly, 35(3): 442--448. Congressional Quarterly, Inc. 2002. 2002 Congressional Quar- terly Almanac. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Converse, P. E. 1966. ‘‘The Concept of a Normal Vote.’’ In A. Campbell, P. E. Converse, W. E. Miller, and D. E. Stokes, eds., Elections and the Political Order, 9--39.

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