Social Cleavages and Party Systems

Nonpartisan system

rare form of democratic party system with no official political parties

Single Party System

only one political party is legally allowed to hold power

One Party Dominant System

multiple parties may legally operate, but one main one gains power

Two Party System

only two major political parties have a realistic chance of holding power

MultiParty System

more than two parties have a realistic chance of holding power

Effective Number of Parties

measure that captures both the number and size of parties in a country

Effective number of electoral parties

measure of the number of parties that win votes

Effective number of legislative parties

measure of the number of parties that win seats

Political Parties

group of officials/would be officials who are linked with a sizable group of citizens into an organization

Party Identification

labels and attachments that convey to voters how they should feel about certain issues

Whip

ensures members of the party attend legislative sessions and vote as the party leadership desires

Pre-industrial cleavages

urban-rural, confessional, secular-clerical

Post-Industrial Cleavages

class, post-material, ethnic/linguistic

Cross cutting Cleavages

uncorrelated cleavage structures

Reinforcing Cleavages

Correlated cleavage structures

Mechanical Effect on electoral laws

impact of electoral laws on how votes are transferred into seats

Strategic effect of electoral systems

impact of electoral laws on the “strategic” behavior of voters and political elites

Strategic Entry

model that considers how parties decide to enter an electoral race

Duvergers Law

single member district plurality systems encourage two-party systems

Duvergers hypothesis

proportional representation electoral rules favor multiparty systems