chapter 11

Question 1

election

Answer 1

a method of assessing how people want to be ruled; it is essential for liberal democracies

Question 2

two basic types of electoral systems

Answer 2

plurality and proportional representation

Question 3

arrow’s impossibility theorem

Answer 3

mathematical formula created by Kenneth Arrow. It determines the most favorable when none of the options receives an absolute majority

Question 4

franchise

Answer 4

the right to vote

Question 5

evolution of the franchise

Answer 5

-1860s- voting a privilege for white men who owned property
-women start advocating for the right to vote in get it 1916
-

Question 6

Single member plurality

Answer 6

whoever gets the most votes wins. Gives winning party a clear majority

Question 7

Pros of SMP

Answer 7

It’s simple! Government can pass laws quicker when their is a clear majority

Question 8

cons of SMP

Answer 8

forming majority governments when you don’t get the majority vote. Wasted votes.

Question 9

proportional representation

Answer 9

prioritizes adequate representation of the range of public opinion

Question 10

Mixed Member Proportional

Answer 10

two votes, one for the party and another for the person

Question 11

hybrid systems

Answer 11

some people are voted in by simple majority others by proportional rep.

Question 12

Carothers’s “standard lament”

Answer 12

1. Parties are corrupt- they favour people who support them
2. no real difference between them, they don’t really stand for anything
3. they waist time arguing over petty things when they could be working with each other for the benefit of all
4. parties are only active during election time, don’t know what’s going on besides then
5. parties are ill-prepared to lead the country

Question 13

political party

Answer 13

a group of political activists who want to form or be a part of gov’t to influence policy-making

Question 14

how did parties emerge

Answer 14

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

Question 15

General Andrew Jackson

Answer 15

1828; parties started with him. his supporters formed a democratic party and he won with a significant increase in voter turn out.

Question 16

mass parties

Answer 16

political parties attracting millions of grassroots members, extending it to the public

Question 17

American founding fathers and parties

Answer 17

they were against parties and said to was against the spirit of democracy. It would exploit and oppress people as a whole

Question 18

urbanization and parties

Answer 18

Industrialization and urbanization made parties even more popular because more people were moving to cities and city issues were the center of politics.

Question 19

when did party heyday end

Answer 19

WW1, more restrictions were put on political parties. They saw patronage as unethical

Question 20

patronage

Answer 20

if you help get elected a political party, there will be lots of benefits or rewards to the people loyal to the party

Question 21

catch all parties

Answer 21

Since WW2, parties focus on gaining the parties of the median voter

Question 22

cartel parties

Answer 22

parties with a lot of power and control exercised by party officials.

Question 23

3 divisions of modern parties

Answer 23

party-in government, party-in-electorate, party’s internal organization

Question 24

Modern typologies

Answer 24

1. brokerage parties- pragmatic parties seeking to secure the median voter
2. ideological parties- more interested in advancing an ideology than winning
3. single-issue-parties- parties that focus on a single issue (copyright party)
4. protest-parties- they want to change things from what the current political system is doing

Question 25

factors that shape how parties function

Answer 25

1. constitutional framework within which it operates
2. how elections are organized
3. available technology and media

Question 26

7 functions of parties

Answer 26

1. legitimizes the political system because citizens are part of it
2. integrate and mobilize citizens to get them involved in politics
3. Representation- parties rep. the people’s concerns
4. easier structuring of popular vote, which party instead of every single individual
5. brings together a diverse population and interests
6. recruitment of leaders for public office
7. educating people on their parties
8. raising money
9. forming public policy

Question 27

definition of party system

Answer 27

Giovanni Sartori- the system of interactions resulting from interparty competition

Question 28

problems with parties

Answer 28

1. facing a decline in participation
2. state funding
3. 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

Question 29

Duverger’s law

Answer 29

SMP tends to form two-party systems

Question 30

Durverger on prop. rep

Answer 30

prop. rep. tends to form multiparty representation

Question 31

example of 1 party system

Answer 31

Russia, Japan, sub-Saharan africa

Question 32

two party system example

Answer 32

US

Question 33

3-5 party system example

Answer 33

Canada, France, UK, Germany

Question 34

5+ party example

Answer 34

Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand

Question 35

party discipline

Answer 35

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)

Question 36

at large voting

Answer 36

whole city is considered one district and they vote from the same list of candidates

Question 37

alternative member model

Answer 37

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