CHAPTER 11: PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEMS

Political Party

A group of people that is organized for the purpose of winning government power, by electoral or other means.

political office; formal membership; political preferences; ideological

Characteristics of Parties:

1. aim to exercise power by winning __________

2. organized bodies with a ___________

3. typically adopt a broad issue focus, addressing each major areas of government policy

4. united by a shared _______________ and a general __________ identity.

mass; like-minded; key leader; family

Political parties are part of the structure of _____ politics, ushered in by the advent of representative government and the progressive extension of the franchise during the 19th century. Until then, what were called factions or parties were little more than group of ________ politicians, usually formed around a ________ or _______.

Edmund Burke; disciplined machines

When ____________ in the late 18th century described a party as ‘a body of men united…upon some particular principle upon which they all agree,’ he was thinking about fluid and informal groupings such as the Whings and Tories, and not about the organized and increasingly _____________ into which they were to develop.

1. ideological leanings

2. how they recruit members

3. how they seek to obtain power

What are ways for classifying parties?

left-wing; right-wing

Most parties can be labelled as either broad ________ or ______.

Left-wing; change

__________ parties, sometimes termed ‘progressive,’ are characterized by a commitment to _______, in the form of social reform or wholesale economic transformation.

conservative; dontinuity

Right-wing parties, often termed ________, generally uphold the existing social order and are, in that sense, a force for _________.

T

T/F: Most voters, even those who describe themselves as "independents” or “moderates,” tend to express views and vote consistently towards one side of politics.

T/F: The lef/right party divide is simplistic and often misleading, and it is not unusual for voters and parties alike to adopt ideas and policies from across the political spectrum.

cadre party;

The term ________ originally meant a “party of notables” that were dominated by group of leaders who saw little point in building up a mass organization. It is now more commonly used to denote trained and professional party members who are expected to exhibit a high level of commitment and doctrinal discipline.

restrictive; active elite

The distinguishing feature of cadre parties is their relatively ________ membership requirements, and their reliance on a politically _________ or cadres that can offer ideological leadership to the masses.

This places a heavy emphasis on broadening membership and constructing a wide electoral base. They key feature of such parties is that they place heavier stress on recruitment and organization rather than on ideology and political conviction.

catch-all parties; big tent

Many modern parties fall into the category of what Otto Kirchheimer termed ___________, sometimes also called _________ parties. These are parties that drastically simplify their ideological programmes in order to appeal to the largest possible number of votes.

According to Sigmund Neumann, mass parties might be described as ________ parties, insofar as their mission is to reflect public opinion and respond to the concerns of the electorate. While, cadre parties are __________ as they seek to shape public opinion and mobilize the public towards a certain end.

Constitutional parties; rules; constraints; division; formal independence; political neutrality

This party acknowledge the rights and entitlements of other parties, and thus, operate within a framework of _______ and _______. They acknowledge that there is a ________ between the party and the state, between the party in power (the government of the day) and state institutions (the bureaucracy, judiciary, police, and so on) that enjoy _________ and _________.

electoral competition

Constitutional parties acknowledge and respect the rules of _____________. They recognize that they can be voted out of power as easily as they can be voted in.

revolutionary parties; power; overthrow

These parties are anti-system or anti-constitutional parties, either of the left or of the right. Such parties aim to seize ______ and ______ the existing constitutional structure using tactics that range from outright insurrection and popular revolution to the quasi-legalism practiced by the Fascists.

Anti-part party

A party that sets out to subvert traditional party politics by rejecting parliamentary compromise in emphasizing popular mobilization.

populist parties

_________, with their anti-establishment character and sometimes casual attitude towards rules and norms, share characteristics with revolutionary politics.

1. representation

2. elite formation and recruitment

3. goal formulation

4. interest articulation and aggregation

5. socialization and mobilization

6. organization of government

What are the main functions of parties?