10. POLITICAL PARTIES

Political Parties: An Overview

Image of Political Parties

• Political parties do not enjoy the best public image based on a subset of respondents who answered questions regarding trust in political parties.

Agenda for the Session

• Discussion Goals:

  • What are political parties and what functions do they serve?

  • How are political parties organized and funded?

  • Characteristics of party systems and how they can be described.

Understanding Political Parties

• Definition of a Political Party:

  • “A group of officials or would-be officials who are linked with a sizable group of citizens into an organization, with a chief objective of this organization being to ensure that its officials attain power or are maintained in power.”

Additional Definitions

• Edmund Burke:

  • “A body of men united, for promoting by their joint endeavours, the national interest, upon some particular principle in which they are all agreed.”

• Lynn D. Epstein:

  • “Any group, however loosely organized, seeking to elect government office holders, under a given label.”.

Differentiation from Other Groups

• Key Differences: Political parties are different from:

  • Interest groups.

  • Social movements.

• Emphasis on delineating political parties based on their structural dynamics and functions.

Faces of Political Party Organization

• Katz and Mair (1993) outline three “faces of party organization”:

  • The Party in Public Office: Those elected officials representing the party.

  • The Party on the Ground: Grassroots organization, members, and activists.

  • The Party Central Office: The administrative and operational center that coordinates activities.

Functions of Political Parties

• Political parties serve multiple essential functions:

  • Winning electoral office.

  • Recruiting and training public officials.

  • Organizing parliamentary work.

  • Coordination and aggregation of interests and preferences.

  • Identity formation and mobilization of citizens.

Institutional Context of Parties

Influences of Electoral System and Governance Type

• The effectiveness and structure of political parties are influenced by:

  • The electoral system in place (proportional representation vs. first-past-the-post).

  • Governance types, such as parliamentary vs. presidential systems.

  • Norms guiding candidate selection processes.

Internal Organization of Political Parties

Vertical Organization

• Examination of whether political parties are organized democratically internally: Empirical evidence suggests variation in internal democratic organization exists across parties.

The Iron Law of Oligarchy

• Robert Michels (1876-1936):

  • Presented the concept that organization and centralization often lead to a concentration of power in a small group.

  • As party leaders accumulate power, their interests may diverge from the party base, leading to:

  • A moderation of policy demands.

• Question raised: Is this inevitable across all political parties?

• Parties can vary significantly in their orientation, either prioritizing policy achievement versus seeking votes.

Sources of Party Finance

• Political parties are funded through multiple sources, including:

  • Membership Fees: Funds collected from party members.

  • Public Funding: Often associated with cartel parties, as described by Katz and Mair (1995).

  • Donations: Inflows from individuals, corporations, and interest groups.

  • Commercial Activities: Revenue-generating activities apart from political campaigns.

  • Corrupt Practices: Potentially illegal funding mechanisms.

  • Foreign Support: Donations or funds from outside the country.

Understanding Party Systems

Definition and Description

• Party System:

  • Defined as the regular and recurring interactions between its component parties.

• Key Features of Political Party Systems:

  • Number of parties and their respective sizes.

  • Nature of interaction among the parties (cooperation, competition, etc.).

  • Party systems are dynamic and can change over time.

The Number of Parties

• Analysis of election results to determine the number of parties:

• Considerations on how different electoral outcomes affect the perceived number of significant parties.

Effective Number of Parties (ENP)

• Method to measure party representation focusing on party sizes:

  • The ENP formula is given as $ENP = rac{1}{ ext{sum of squared party sizes}}$

  • Where size is defined as the proportion of total votes. The calculation includes:

  • Election 1:

    • $ENP = rac{1}{0.6^2 + 0.25^2 + 0.1^2 + 0.05^2} ext{ which yields approximately } 2.3$

  • Election 2:

    • $ENP = rac{1}{0.4^2 + 0.3^2 + 0.3^2} ext{ which yields approximately } 2.9$

  • The ENP provides a different perspective from simply counting the parties, showcasing their sizes and influence differently.

Party Policy Space

• Concept of organizing political parties in a geographical policy space:

  • Represents where parties stand based on policy positions.

  • The basic model is one-dimensional for simplicity:

  • A further measurement strategy involves expert surveys to assess party positions.