Political Society: Parties, Groups, & Identity

Political party

An organized group seeking control of government through elections.

Key Features:

• Objective: win office; control government

• Methods: nominant candidates; run campaigns

• Competition: contest elections

• Autonomy: independent organization

• Coherence: shared principles or goals

Origins of Parties

• Intra-parliamentary parties: formed by elites in early representative assemblies (17th-19th century)

• Extra-parliamentary parties: emerged when mass suffrage expanded; mobilized excluded groups

Types of Parties

• Cadre/Elite Parties: Early modern; small, elite-led; limited organization.

• Mass Parties: Basef on organized social groups (ex. labour, socialist); strong membership

• Catch-All Parties (Kirchheimer): Broad ideological appeal; media-driven; prioritize governing over a single group

• Niche Parties: Single-issue or identity focused (ex. Green, far-right, regionalist)

Functions of Parties

• Coordination: within government and society.

• Contest elections: select candidates, raise funds, craft policies.

• Recruitment: political socialisation; integrate citizens.

• Representation: link social groups to the state.

Party Systems

• Dominant Party System: One party repeatedly wins elections (Ex. Japan’s LDP who have held power since 1955, with brief interruptions).

• Two-Party System: Power alternates between two major parties (Ex. UK & US)

• Multi-Party System: Several significant parties; coalitions are common (Ex. Denmark, who have had no single-party majority since 1909).

What is a Cleavage?

Presented by Bartolini; Rokkan & Lipset

Must include 3 elements:

1. Social structure: class, religion, region, language, education.

2. Collective identity: group consciousness (“we” v. “they”)

3. Organization: parties, unions, churches, movements.

Classic Cleavages—arising from national and industrial revolutions:

1. Centre v. Periphery

2. Church v. State

3. Rural v. Urban

4. Capital v. Labor

“Freezing Hypothesis”

Party systems stabilized around these cleavages by early 20th century.

Challenges to Freezing:

• Post-materialist cleavage (Inglehart, Kitschelt)

  • Ex: Environmentalism, gender, lifestyle → Green parties

• Globalization cleavage

  • Winners v. losers of economic openness → rise of populism.

  • Includes both right-wing and left-wing versions.

Left v. Right

• Left: equality, retribution, welfare, state intervention.

• Right: markets, hierarchy, tradition, limited state.

Cultural Variability

AKA Overton Window

• The “left” and “right” mean different things in different countries

• Ex. socialism is very normal in Europe, but is considered radical in the United States

Identity Politics

People typically align politically based on:

• ethnicity

• religion

• region

• class

• education

• generation

• urban/rural identity

Case Studies:

• Brexit (2016): age, education, urban/rural.

• Trump (2016-present): race, education, rural identity.

• France (2024): class + economic insecurity + nationalism.

Rise of Populist & Alternative Parties

Drivers

• Identity concerns (i.e., migration, culture).

• Economic insecurity.

• Dissatisfaction with mainstream parties (“anti-elite” sentiment).

• Globalization-induced inequality.

Case Studies:

• AfD (Germany)

• Sweden Democrats

• Front National/Rassemblement National (France)

• Fratelli d’Italia

Are populist parties a problem of proportional representation?

Proportional representation electoral systems allow small/extreme parties into parliament. Typically, first-past-the-post tends to suppress them, but not always.

• Ex. Donald Trump

Challenges Facing Parties Today

• Declining membership.

• Greater influence of special interests.

• Party finance controversies.

• Increasing issue complexity.

• Competition from non-party actors (NGOs, social movements).

• Weakening traditional social cleavages → volatility.