chapter 11 Flashcards
election
a method of assessing how people want to be ruled; it is essential for liberal democracies
two basic types of electoral systems
plurality and proportional representation
arrow’s impossibility theorem
mathematical formula created by Kenneth Arrow. It determines the most favorable when none of the options receives an absolute majority
franchise
the right to vote
evolution of the franchise
-1860s- voting a privilege for white men who owned property
-women start advocating for the right to vote in get it 1916
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Single member plurality
whoever gets the most votes wins. Gives winning party a clear majority
Pros of SMP
It’s simple! Government can pass laws quicker when their is a clear majority
cons of SMP
forming majority governments when you don’t get the majority vote. Wasted votes.
proportional representation
prioritizes adequate representation of the range of public opinion
Mixed Member Proportional
two votes, one for the party and another for the person
hybrid systems
some people are voted in by simple majority others by proportional rep.
Carothers’s “standard lament”
- Parties are corrupt- they favour people who support them
- no real difference between them, they don’t really stand for anything
- they waist time arguing over petty things when they could be working with each other for the benefit of all
- parties are only active during election time, don’t know what’s going on besides then
- parties are ill-prepared to lead the country
political party
a group of political activists who want to form or be a part of gov’t to influence policy-making
how did parties emerge
getting ideas through individually was hard because of all the checks and balances, so people who were like-minded collaborated to have their laws passed easier
General Andrew Jackson
1828; parties started with him. his supporters formed a democratic party and he won with a significant increase in voter turn out.
mass parties
political parties attracting millions of grassroots members, extending it to the public
American founding fathers and parties
they were against parties and said to was against the spirit of democracy. It would exploit and oppress people as a whole
urbanization and parties
Industrialization and urbanization made parties even more popular because more people were moving to cities and city issues were the center of politics.
when did party heyday end
WW1, more restrictions were put on political parties. They saw patronage as unethical
patronage
if you help get elected a political party, there will be lots of benefits or rewards to the people loyal to the party
catch all parties
Since WW2, parties focus on gaining the parties of the median voter
cartel parties
parties with a lot of power and control exercised by party officials.
3 divisions of modern parties
party-in government, party-in-electorate, party’s internal organization
Modern typologies
- brokerage parties- pragmatic parties seeking to secure the median voter
- ideological parties- more interested in advancing an ideology than winning
- single-issue-parties- parties that focus on a single issue (copyright party)
- protest-parties- they want to change things from what the current political system is doing
factors that shape how parties function
- constitutional framework within which it operates
- how elections are organized
- available technology and media
7 functions of parties
- legitimizes the political system because citizens are part of it
- integrate and mobilize citizens to get them involved in politics
- Representation- parties rep. the people’s concerns
- easier structuring of popular vote, which party instead of every single individual
- brings together a diverse population and interests
- recruitment of leaders for public office
- educating people on their parties
- raising money
- forming public policy
definition of party system
Giovanni Sartori- the system of interactions resulting from interparty competition
problems with parties
- facing a decline in participation
- state funding
- forming new parties in new democracies is hard social divisions of the past are no longer relevant now so its hard to create a clear image of what you stand for
Duverger’s law
SMP tends to form two-party systems
Durverger on prop. rep
prop. rep. tends to form multiparty representation
example of 1 party system
Russia, Japan, sub-Saharan africa
two party system example
US
3-5 party system example
Canada, France, UK, Germany
5+ party example
Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand
party discipline
sticks- punishment (getting bad seat, not getting your ideas on the agenda) (first and second face of power)
carrots- getting into cabinet, commissions, info (third face of power)
at large voting
whole city is considered one district and they vote from the same list of candidates
alternative member model
hybrid between prop and smp. 2 rounds of voting, one that does give a clear majority second, only two successful candidate remain in the ballots ex: Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Russia
