POL 252Fall 2014

Growing Autonomy of Parliaments

Expansion of Suffrage

Avenues to Political Power

“A body of men united, for promoting by their

joint endeavors the national interest, upon

some particular principle in which they

are all agreed”

Edmund Burke

Inter and Intra-Party Variation

Political Party vs. Political Ideology

Conservative Democrats, Liberal Republicans

Politicians’ Choices

▪ Vote or caucus with another party

▪ Defect party and join another

A broad coalition of individuals who:

(1) Recruit, nominate, and elect candidates for office

(2) Under a given label

(3) To control the government

(4) In accordance with their ideas and policies.

Party-in-the-Electorate

Loyalty and Identification with Party

Party Identification (“PID”)

Case Examples: United States, United Kingdom

What happens if someone has different views?

▪ Likert Scale

Strong Lib

Weak Lib

Lean Lib

ModLean Cons

Weak Cons

Strong Cons

Party Organization

Party Officials, Committees, Volunteers, Staff

Functions of Party Organizations

Party-in-Government

Officeholders and Candidates

Local, State, National Levels

Examples: President, PM, Majority/Minority Leaders

Intermediary Between Citizens and Govt. Bring Public Together; Define and Accomplish Objectives

Competition with Others (e.g. interest groups, media)

Nominate Candidates for Office National, State, and Local Levels

Role of Party Varies (e.g. party list)

Contest Elections Mobilize Electorate; Encourage Voting

Engage Supporters, Persuade Undecided, Minimize Opposition

Organize Government Role Varies (Parliamentary vs. Presidential System)

Provide Accountability Government Responsibility

Importance of PID

Prospective and Retrospective Voting

Manage Conflict Reconciling Group Demands

Elite or Cadre Parties

Mass Parties

Catch-All Parties

Membership restricted to political elites

Quality of membership

Internal development within legislatures

Example: “King Caucus” in United States

Replaced elite control of parties

Challenges from non-governmental actors

Quantity of membership

“Cradle-to-Grave” organizations

Ideological flexibility

What is their political strategy?

Policy-Seeking Party

Focused on issue positions

Vote-Seeking Party

Goal is Winning Elections

Office-Seeking Party

Emphasis on holding office

Dominant-Party System One party controls government Lack of competition in elections Subtype: Single-Party System (e.g. Nazis, CCP)

Two-Party System Two major parties struggle for power Platforms highlight party differences

Multiparty System More than two parties Emphasis on coalitions

Dominant-Party System Degree of dominance by major party▪ 100% or 51% of vote

Two-Party System Alternation of power between two parties

One party wins often in certain period

Multiparty System Fragmentation vs. Concentration

Can’t you just count them?

Effective Number of Parties

Calculation:

▪ Proportion of seats held by party squared

▪ Add squares together and divide by 1

▪ Example: Three parties (P1 – 40%, P2 – 40%, P3 – 20%)▪ 1 / [(0.40*0.40) + (0.40*0.40) + (0.20*0.20)]

▪ .16 + .16 + .04 = .36 1 / .36 = 2.78

Persistence and Electoral Success

Stability of Ideologies / Platforms

Emphasis on Institutions

What is relationship with the State?

Pluralism – Many groups; “marketplace of ideas”

Corporatism – Relationship w/ groups, State