Political Parties

Political Party

“Group of official or would-be officials linked with a sizable group of citizens into an organization whose chief objective is to attain or maintain power.”

Structuring the Political World (For Politicians)

Helps organize opinions; allows parties to coordinate among people with similar but not identical preferences.

Structuring the Political World (For Voters)

Provides information shortcuts and links party identification to political identity.

Party Identification & Social Identity Theory

Party identity functions similarly to social identity, leading to affective polarization and strong emotional attachments.

Recruitment & Socialization of Political Elites (why politicaisn join parties)

Politicians join parties because it is often necessary to run for office and advance their careers; roles differ between parliamentary and presidential systems.

Parties as Tools for Electoral Mobilization

Parties connect rulers and the ruled and mobilize mass participation in elections.

Mobilization of the Masses (Why People Vote Game)

people vote bc in parties their vote can sway the election whereas their single vote cannot

Five Categories of Party Systems

• non-partisan

• single-party

• one-party dominant

• two party

• multiparty

Distinguishing Between Party Systems

Measured using the effective number of electoral parties and the effective number of legislative parties.

Primordial View of Party Formation

Parties emerge from natural, preexisting social cleavages (bottom-up, social demand).

Instrumental View of Party Formation

Parties emerge from constructed cleavages created by elites (top-down, institutional supply).

Cleavages (Definition & Questions)

Why some social divisions become political parties depends on attribute distribution, electoral institutions, and shared social understanding.

Cross-Cutting Attributes

Uncorrelated, evenly distributed attributes that reduce political polarization.

Overlapping Attributes

Correlated attributes that reinforce divisions and make cleavages politically salient.

Cleavages & Political Parties

Social cleavages influence the types of political parties that emerge.

Duverger (1963)

Social divisions create need for parties; electoral institutions shape the number of parties; distribution of citizens across cleavages pressures party formation.

Duverger’s Law

Single-member district plurality (SMDP) systems encourage two-party systems.

Duverger’s Hypothesis

Proportional representation (PR) systems encourage multiparty systems.

Duverger’s Key Point: Cross-Cutting Cleavages

The number of cross-cutting (uncorrelated) cleavages—not total cleavages—determines party fragmentation.

Example of Cross-Cutting Cleavages

Rich/poor & Catholic/Protestant groups align in ways that reduce polarization, potentially producing two broad parties.

Duverger on Party Competition

Cross-cutting cleavages encourage the formation of two-party systems through coalition-building.

EX: Far-Right Behavior Under PR vs SMDP

PR: incentive to form new far-right parties.

SMDP: far-right actors join major right-wing parties and shift them rightward.

Policy Competition

Parties compete by offering distinct policy packages

Issue Competition

Politicians gain new voters w/o losing old ones by inventing or highlighting new issues (e.g., bathroom bills); new parties often emerge around issues like climate change.

Valence Competition

Parties compete on competence rather than policies.

Clientelistic Competition

Politicians offer targeted rewards or goods in exchange for political support; a form of nonprogrammatic competition.

Berman & Nugent (2020)

regional voting patterns in new democracies are deeply rooted in how the prior authoritarian regime built and used the state unevenly across the territory (favors to specific regions, those discrepancies carry over to voting behavior)

Types of Party Competition

policy competition, issue competition, valence competition, clientelistic competition

Effects of Electoral Laws: The Mechanical Effect

harder in SMDP for smaller parties to survive whereas in PR they have more leverage bc they can help coalitions reach 51% and no higher (makes ppl vote strategically for candidates they don’t prefer hoping for outcomes they do prefer)

Effects of Electoral Laws: The Strategic Effect

makes ppl vote strategically for candidates they don’t prefer hoping for outcomes they do prefer (ex: not voting for small parties bc they don’t believe they’ll win)