chapter 11 - political parties, party systems, + interest groups Flashcards
political party
a political organization that seeks to influence policy, typically by getting candidates and members elected or appointed to public office
party systems
the degree to which a party system is stable and remains so over time, as measured by characteristics such as the persistence of parties, the stability of the ideologies of those parties, and the degree to which they are distinct from the specific people that lead them
interest groups
organizations that make demands in the political system on behalf of their constituents and members
civil society
a space in society outside of the organization of the state, in which citizens come together and organize themselves
interest articulation
the process by which political actors express their demands, needs, or wants in a political system, often through interest groups
interest aggregation
the process by which individuals’ preferences are brought together to make collective decisions, often thru political parties and the party system
What are the types of political parties?
elite parties, mass parties, movement parties, + catch-all parties
elite parties
political parties in which membership and scope were largely restricted to a small number of political elites
mass parties
parties consisting of large numbers of citizens as members and that undertake massive political mobilization
catch-all parties
political parties that are flexible on their ideological positions and aim to attract support from a broad range of interest groups and voters
movement parties
parties that develop out of broad-based social movements
What are the types of party systems?
two-party, multi-party, + dominant-party
dominant-party system
party system in which a country contains only one large political party that predominates politically, often controlling the legislative and executive branches of gov’t
single-party system
an authoritarian system in which parties besides the single dominant party are banned or disallowed
two-party system
a political party system consisting of two significant parties that have a duopoly on opportunities to govern
multi-party system
a political party system consisting of more than 2 significant parties that have opportunities to govern
fragmented
the extent to which political power and representation in a party system are characterized by relatively large numbers of relatively small parties
concentrated
the extent to which political power and representation in a party system are characterized by relatively small numbers of relatively large parties
effective number of parties
a measure designed to capture the number of meaningful parties in a party system that weights the number of parties represented by their size
party system institutionalization
the degree to which a party system is stable and remains so over time
pluralism
a system of interest group representation in which groups compete openly to influence government decisions and public policy, and which specific groups do not have official preferential access to decision making
corporatism
a system of interest group representation in which certain major groups are officially designated as representatives of certain interests, and have a more structured interaction w/ the gov’t in power and w/ the state’s administration
peak organizations
top associations, such as labor federations and large business organizations, that represent common interests by bringing together many like-minded organizations
median voter
the voter who is theoretically exactly in the middle of the distribution of voters
collective action approach
the name given to the rational choice theory of contention associated with Marc Lichbach
What factors shape party systems?
- types of electoral systems
- geographic factors
- historial factors
- economic factors
- social factors
an example of democratic governments without parties?
the Tunisia elections in 2013 following the Arab Spring saw 100s of non-party affiliated candidates running for office
What exactly helps political parties distinguish themselves?
the platform around which the party’s values are coordinated and united
What two questions are party systems focused on answering?
- How many parties are there?
- How have those parties developed based on the nation’s electoral systems?
What are the ways in which interest groups gain support for their particular cause?
by endorsing politicians and by focusing on lobbying and petitioning rather than running for office themselves
factionalism
term used to describe the fact that the Founding Fathers didn’t want or desire political parties at our nation’s founding b/c of party’s divisive nature
What is a modern example of an elite party?
the PAN in Mexico, which is a conservative party in Mexico w/ close ties to Roman Catholic Church
What are a 21st century examples of mass parties?
the Workers’ Party in Brazil + the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa
What differentiates mass parties from movement parties?
mass parties tend to represent a relatively large sector of the population that has yet to be represented in a political party
What is a modern example of a catch-all party?
the PDSB in Brazil
What is the most basic characteristic in any party system?
the number of MAJOR parties expected to be in competitive elections
A party system is LESS institutionalized IF…
if a party is more volatile or less stable
A party system is MORE institutionalized IF…
if a party’s name or brand carries more meaning
What is USUALLY the relationship b/w party system institutionalization and regime type?
USUALLY…the more established a democracy is, the more institutionalized the party system
What is true about pluralism in its purest form?
none of the groups have more privileged access to the gov’t than others
In corporatist nations, what are usually the most important interest groups?
USUALLY…the financial groups
How do SMDs shape party systems?
SMDs tend to favor large parties w/ the ability to win plurality of the vote, which leads to a tendency for a 2 party system to emerge
How does PR shape party systems?
proportional rep. is designed for more overall accurate reflection of party preference distribution, which leads to a tendency for multi-party systems to emerge
