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Political Parties and Organizations (China (Political parties are…
Political Parties and Organizations
China
Political parties are practically nonexistent, as the Chinese Communist Party remains at the heart of the government. The legitimacy of the CCP does not come from approval of the citizens, but rather it remains in power because that is how it has always been in the past.
Although the main party in China, the CCP, has not held a popular support of itself it remains in almost absolute control with almost 70% of influential political seats being filled by CCP members.
Younger generations are seeing a pull away from traditional CCP ideals that the government is a guiding hand necessary to help grow the population. They begin to see the growing appeal of a more liberal democratic society
The beliefs of the CCP are based upon the idea of democratic centralism, and its basic structure is organized hierarchically.
Democratic Centralism-
the idea that society is best led by an elite vanguard party with a superior understanding of the people and their needs.
Even though the CCP essentially acts as a one-party system, it does allow the existence of eight "democratic" parties. Because of how tightly they are controlled, these parties offer absolutely no opposition to the CCP. However, they do serve advisory roles and members can occasionally obtain high level positions in the government.
Chinese Elections and How to Participate
Elections are held only as a means of legitimizing the government and are controlled completely by the CCP. Direct elections are held at the local level, but all other sectors of the government are selected by politicians in the levels below them.
The Chinese Communist Party has held a monopoly on media and censors most anti-CCP coverage. Even polls and social opinion articles are doubted due to heavy media censorship and alteration of content to help the CCP push their message
Russia
Unlike most other democracies in the world, Russia's political system has had extremely little time to develop, as it was constructed almost immediately after the revolution that ended the Soviet Union. As a result, many of the first Duma elections had numerous small parties.
Over time the number of parties has steadily decreased, but because they are regularly shifting, it is almost impossible for Russian citizens to develop party loyalties like those seen in the UK. As a result, political parties in Russia are characteristically weak and fluid in comparison to more established democracies
Prior to 2007, seats in the Duma were selected by a combination of proportional representation and single-member districts. However, after the implementation of new rules by Vladimir Putin, all seats are elected proportionally
This change has made it extremely difficult for smaller, regional parties to obtain seats in the Duma. In the most recent election, only six parties were able to gain seats at all.
United Russia-
Most powerful party in the Russian political system, headed by Vladimir Putin. Although it has lost support many times over the years, Putin has taken measures to ensure that it remains in power. United Russia does not have a clear political stance or goal, other than the fact that it was created for and continues to support Putin.
Duma Election Law
Communist Party of the Russian Federation-
Remains the second strongest party in the Duma, although its support has dropped significantly since the 1990's. It has benefited from the discontent with Putin in recent years, but it has been unable to secure any form of majority.
The party is not like the original Communist Party; however, it is far less reformist than any of the other parties. The CPRF favors nationalism and believes in reacquiring territories lost after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
United Kingdom
Although Britain maintains a multi-party system, the Labour and Conservative parties have been the dominant two in recent decades. However, unlike many other nations, Britain's third parties are quite strong and have the ability to greatly affect election results.
Labor Party:
Formed in 1906 and actively controlled the British government between 1997 and 2010. Over time the party has become more moderate, although many believe that Jeremy Corbyn has reserved this shift.
Jeremy Corbyn wins Labour leadership contest and vows 'fightback'
Conservative Party:
Dominant party between WW2 and 1997, power was reacquired from the Labour Party in 2010. Characterized by
noblesse oblige.
The Conservative Party has suffered from internal divisions between the traditional wing (one-nation Tories) and the Thatcherite wing. In modern times, the traditional wing has generally rejected Brexit, while the Thatcherites are more supportive of the idea.
Noblesse Oblige-
the duty of the upper classes to take responsibility for the welfare of the lower classes
Thatcherism-
refers to the beliefs and actions of Margaret Thatcher, whose political stance focused on the rejection of collectivism as well as preferring individualism and competition over the standard of
noblesse oblige.
What is Thatcherism?
Because the United Kingdom is a collective of four separate nations, regional political parties are much more prevalent and powerful. In addition to the Labour and Conservative parties in Britain are the Liberal Democrats, as well the Plaid Cymru in Wales.
Political parties in Britain began to form during the 1700s as caucuses, before transitioning to the Whigs and Tories during the 19th century.
Nigeria
Political parties in Nigeria have been based on region and ethnicity for almost the entirety of its history. While some countries developed one-party systems which helped to stabilize the government, the factionalism present in Nigerian politics has led to the creation of an excessive number of parties. As a result, it has been almost impossible to create a functional party system.
Due to the tendency of Nigerian parties to form around individuals rather than ideas, the ethnic and religious cleavages ravaging Nigeria only continue to deepen over time.
Because of constant fights for power political parties are very new and have yet to gain a steady following. Out of the 2015 election the two parties to put forth major candidates were the People's Democratic party and the All Progressive Congress
Peoples Democratic Party: Marred by corruption the PDP is a party that has held power for a considerable amount of time in Nigeria. Maintaining power from 1998 to 2015 the PDP has faced hard opposition due to the fact that the 2007 election was viewed as fraudulent and not a good marker of support for the PDP.
Nigerian Politics and a Look to the Future
All Progressive Congress: the APC is a coalition party originally split into the Action Congress of Nigeria, the Congress for Progressive Change, the All Nigeria People's Party, and the All Progressive Grand Alliance.
A general trend that can be observed since 1999 is for political parties to lose their regional bases. Parties focus more on drawing support from multiple parts of the country instead. However, the custom of alternating between leaders from the North and the South still has an effect on the decisions of Nigerian parties.
Rare Footage of What Happened to Clean Elections in Nigeria
As a way to monitor the elections and reduce corruption the Independent National Election Committee was established. Their work to limit corruption was originally questioned during the 2007 elections when they didn't include a candidate for election. Following that their work has been seen as useful and limited corruption in the years after through multiple fraudulent voting plans.
Mexico
For a majority of its history Mexico functioned as a one-party state. Before 2000, every president belonged to the PRI, and an overwhelming majority of lower-level officials were also PRI members.
During the past 20 years other parties have amassed considerable power, resulting in the ability for competitive elections for the first time. Currently, there are three main parties in the Mexican government.
PAN: The PAN was the more North based party which pushed for better ties to the Catholic church and more regional autonomy. The PAN looked to pull politics from the economy and tried to privatize education and tie it back to the Catholic church.
PRI: The PRI was a political elite party. Stemming from an agreement between political elites, the PRI was a party characterized by heavy patron-clientelism. Having great ties to interest groups and the political elite, the PRI gained heavy support until the 2000s which marked its fall from power.
PRD: Characterized as the more left approach to governing, this democratic organization pushed for social justice and populism. This party has faced hard internal divides that have weakened party support and drastically reduced voting in favor of them. Another problem is their lack of an identity more left of the more central PRI.
Young Voters and the Power that they Wield
Iran
Iran's Constitution allowed for political parties, but they weren't used until 1997. This short development period has led parties to be centered less on issues and more on personalities.
Factbox: Parties and politics in Iran's parliamentary election
Individual parties are spread out and tend to change quickly, but all parties tend to fall under two overall titles: reformist or conservative.
Conservative: Wish to maintain Sharia Law and follow leadership under the guidance of clerics.
Reformist: Pursuant of more secularized society based more in democracy rather than traditional theological beliefs.
The party system in Iran heavily reflects factionalism. Political parties are extremely weak and fluid, and often break apart as soon as their candidate is elected. Political elites are separated not only by their points of view, but also by their dispositions.
In the years leading up to 2020 reformist parties gained more and more power leading them to have a majority in their legislative body. This shift to more reformist values has pushed the traditional clerics aligned with the conservative parties out of power
Because of the constantly shifting nature of parties in Iran, presidential candidates are often sponsored by general alliances. The four "parties" during the 2013 election were the Executives of Construction Party, Moderation and Development Party, Combatant Clergy Association, and the Islamic Coalition Party
The Swing of Power Back to the Conservatives
