STUDY UNIT 3 Flashcards
What is a POLITICAL PARTY?
a political party is a group of people that is formally organized and is identified by an official label, for the primary purpose of gaining control of the machinery of government, by elections in democratic states, or other means in an authoritarian one
PRIMARY ROLE:
the primary role of political parties in democracies and authoritarian societies is to gain control over the instruments of the government in order to realize their policies and programmes.
FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES:
- the integration and articulation of interests
- a bridge between the people and the government
- Selecting and recruiting leaders
- Organization of the government
- Political education and socialization
TWO MAJOR ELECTORAL SYSTEMS:
- Majoritarian system
- Proportional system
IN THE MAJORITARIAN SYSTEM:
the largest party wins
IN THE PROPORTIONAL SYSTEM:
each party is allocated the same share of seats as it won with votes.
FINANCING POLITICAL PARTIES
the government
foreign donors
own business initiatives
membership fees
What is a Party system?
is the network of relationships between parties in a state.
TYPES OF PARTY SYSTEMS:
- Two-party system
- Dominant party system
- Multiple-party system
- TWO-PARTY SYSTEM:
exists when a state has either only two popular political parties plus less influential political parties
-each of the two major parties can rule at the same time.
- DOMINANT PARTY SYSTEM:
is competitive in the sense that several parties compete for power in regular and popular elections, but it is dominated by a single major party.
- MUTIPLE-PARTY SYSTEM:
has several popular political parties, and they are all active in politics, but no single party is able to secure a clear majority in election.
