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