Political Parties Flashcards
1
Q
What is a party?
A
- A group of people
- Organized for the purpose of winning governmental power
- Usually with common ideological orientation
- A program covering a wide array of issues
2
Q
When is the party?
A
- It’s a modern institution:
- Emerging 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries
- To manage representative government in an age of mass suffrage
- Initial resistance – parties seen as “factions”
- Shifting popularity of parties ever since
3
Q
Party democracy - EE Schattschneider
A
“Modern democracy is unthinkable save it terms of parties”
4
Q
Party functions
A
- Representation
- Elite formation and recruitment
- Goal formation
- Interest articulation
- Socialization and mobilization
- Organization of government
5
Q
Party types
A
- Cadre
- Mass
- Catch-all
- Constitutional and revolutionary
- Left wing vs. right wing
6
Q
Cadre
A
- Elitist, mass landowners
- Before mass suffrage
- Emphasizing ideological leadership
7
Q
Mass
A
- Dependent on membership
- For resources to challenge elites
8
Q
Catch-all
A
- Usually party of representation (over integration)
- Little commitment to ideology, class
9
Q
Constitutional and revolutionary
A
- Constitutional: respects the rules of democracy
- Revolutionary: big changes that does not support the liberal democracy
10
Q
Left wing vs. right wing
A
- From the French revolution (based on seating from French assembly after revolution)
- Right wing: strong sense of support for military and police, desire for order
- Left wing fraternity, progress, social advancement
11
Q
Party organization
A
- Do parties reinforce or compensate for social inequality?
- Ostrogorski (1902): Party machine
- Michels (1911): ‘Iron law of oligarchy’ = any organization (no matter how egalitarian) will collapse into oligarchy
- Overstated – Parties generally hard to organize from the centre
- Growing gap between central and local party bodies
12
Q
Parties are concerned with popular support
A
- USA: nominating parties and caucuses
- Canada and elsewhere: losers reform
