how the us is still a two party system and the uk is more multi-party Flashcards
1
Q
structural aspect
A
- us promotes 2 party dominance
- law to get on ballot, very hard, large number of signatures required
- lack of national election system, handicap for small perties, many states have high thresholds
- to qualify for a debate solt, a candidate must poll an average 15% in 5 polls
2
Q
rational aspect
A
- in the us, high profile independent candidates, e.g. trump, who can run as independents choose to be in a party
- existence of primaries encourages to run under a mega party label, with its empahsis on personalities and direct appeals to voters
- in the uk, the abscence of a primary system holds far more attraction for candidates to seekelection for parties
- party defections often involve lib dems
- rational to vote for one of main two parties, not to waste vote
3
Q
cultural aspect
A
- uk third parties have deeper historical roots
- lib dems, can trace back to beginning of modern parliamentary government
- nationalist party in scotland and wales can trace back to interwar period
- in the us, libertarians founded in 1971, green party 1980s
