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Chapter 7: Political Parties (What political parties do (Facilitate…
Chapter 7: Political Parties
What is a political party?
An organization that nominates and runs candidates for office under its own label.
Political Parties vs. Interest Groups
They use fundamentally different methods to influence the political process.
Political Parties
Political parties nominate and run candidates for office under a party label.
Interest Groups
Interest groups do not run candidates for office but instead use a variety of lobbying techniques.
Three distinct elements
Party in the electorate
The component of a political party that is made up of the people in the public who identify with a political party.
Party in government
The component of a political party that is made up of elected and appointed government officeholders who are associated with a political party.
Party organization
The component of a political party that is composed of the party professionals who hold official positions in the party.
Type of party systems
One-party system
A political system in which representatives of one political party hold all or almost all of the major offices in government.
Multiparty system
A political system in which three or more political parties effectively compete for political office, and no one party can win control of all.
Two-party system
A political system in which only two political parties have a realistic chance of controlling the major offices of government.
Electoral rules
Proportional representation
Selecting representatives where representation is given to political parties based on the proportion of the vote obtained.
Single-member district plurality (SMDP) system
Selecting representatives where a nation or state is divided into separate election districts and voters in each district choose one representative. The candidate in each district with a plurality of the vote wins the seat.
Duverger's law
The tendency, as documented by French sociologist Maurice Duverger, for the single-member district plurality system to favor a two-party system.
Different systems
Parliamentary system
An electoral system in which the party holding the majority of seats in the legislature selects the chief executive.
Presidential system
A political system in which the chief executive and the legislature are elected independently.
Minor political party
Third parties
Minor political parties that periodically appear but have little success in winning office.
What political parties do
Facilitate participation
Promote government responsiveness
Promote government accountability
Promote stability and peaceful resolution of conflict
Responsible party model
Describes democracies with competitive parties in which one party wins control of the government based on its policy proposals, enacts those proposals once it is in control, and stands or falls in the next election based on its performance in delivering on its promises.
Party discipline
Requiring political party members in public office to promote or carry out the party’s agenda and punishing those who do not.
Divided government
When one party controls the presidency and another controls Congress.
Majority-Minority districts
Districts in which the majority of the population is composed of ethnic or racial minorities.
How citizens get involved
Direct primary
The selection of a political party’s candidate for the general election by vote of ordinary citizens.