In Political Parties and Party Systems, Alan Ware summarizes the two main competing theories that attempt to explain party systems. First, the Sociological approach and then the Institutional approach. In order to comprehend his analysis it is necessary to realize that party systems are in a constant state of evolution, they do not remain stagnant. This evolution may, at times, be imperceptible and at others very noticeable, such as during a revolution; but the change is undoubtedly occurring. It is much easier to understand these theories if you view these two theories from a flexible standpoint as opposed to having a concrete beginning and end with exact delineations in between. Lipset and Rokkan created a model that identifies the main aspects of the Sociological theory. Their main thesis was that modern party systems were rooted in social conflicts that had been occurring for ages before the systems came to be. They called these conflicts cleavages and established four different lines to which the modern systems could be traced back. The first of these was a Centre-Periphery cleavage which was centered on two issues: Was “society’s religion to be national or international” and, as Latin was how religion was practiced, how can this conflict between state languages and Latin be remedied? The second cleavage, State-Church, involved the state’s desire to control the education of its citizens in order to maintain a close relationship with the citizenry, which clashed with religious thought at that time. The third cleavage was Land-Industry, which concerned the interests of agriculture and industry and the application of tariffs vs. free trade. The last cleavage was Owner-Worker; the critical juncture of the entire process being t... ... middle of paper ... ...ns were strained on multiple occasions; such as the issue of slavery, indentured servitude, Native American “Trail of Tears”, etc… These all played integral parts in shaping the country that we have before us today. To relate it to the argument asserted by Lipset and Rokkan- America had cleavages well before a significant increase in enfranchisement, and our political history abounds with extremism and devoted supporters. To be sure, the American government constantly attempts to better represent the people. The evolution of America’s party system is, I believe, unique; and it’s this uniqueness that breaks the mold set by the other countries. There is no one class that defines us all, nor any single race, creed, or national origin to which we subscribe. Assuming that the Sociological approach to party systems is correct, the United States belongs in that category.
There are two ways to get rid of the causes of factions, or political parties. The first way of removing these causes is to destroy the liberty essential to their existence. The second way to get rid of the causes is to give everyone the exact same o...
Rosenstone, Steven J., Roy L. Behr, and Edward H. Lazarus. Third Parties in America. 2nd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.
A key issue raised by the Federalists in their campaign for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and by the Anti-Federalists in their campaign against it, was that of factions. In The Federalist No. 10, “The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection,” James Madison defines the dangers of factions and elaborates on the effectiveness of a large, representative democracy in dealing with them. In Essay No. 3, the Anti-Federalist Cato argues that factions are necessary and we must preserve them in a large government if we are to prevent single individuals from corrupting the system. In modern America, we see the influence of factions – parties – growing daily, instigating rivalries and stalling political progress. Despite strong arguments from the Anti-Federalists, this modern evidence proves that factions do negatively impact the government when they are allowed too much power.
In discussing the problems surrounding the issue of factionalism in American society, James Madison concluded in Federalist #10, "The inference to which we are brought is that the causes of cannot be removed and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its effects." (Federalist Papers 1999, 75) In many ways, the nature of American politics has revolved around this question since our country's birth. What is the relationship between parties and government? Should the party serve as an intermediary between the populace and government, and how should a government respond to disparate ideas espoused by the factions inherent to a free society. This paper will discuss the political evolution that has revolved around this question, examining different "regimes" and how they attempted to reconcile the relationship between power and the corresponding role of the people. Beginning with the Federalists themselves, we will trace this evolution until we reach the contemporary period, where we find a political climate described as "interest-group liberalism." Eventually this paper will seek to determine which has been the most beneficial, and which is ultimately preferable.
Cleavages existing in society are divisions such as religion, gender, race, and most importantly socioeconomic status. Political parties form around these divisions in society and in America’s society; money has proven to be the major factor. The major parties in American politics are Democrat and Republican, and the political preference of each member of these parties’ deals greatly with the amount of income they receive.
A two-party system is a political system in which only two parties have a realistic opportunity to compete effectively for control. As a result, all, or nearly all, elected officials end up being a member in one of the two major parties. In a two-party system, one of the parties usually holds a majority in the legislature hence, being referred to as the majority party while the other party is the minority party. The United States of America is considered to be a two-party system. A two-party system emerged early in the history of the new Republic. Beginning with the Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans in the late 1780s, two major parties have dominated national politics, although which particular two parties has changed with the times and issues. During the nineteenth century, the Democrats and Republicans emerged as the two dominant parties in American politics. As the American party system evolved, many third parties emerged, but few of them remained in existence for very long. Today the Democrats and Republican still remain as the dominant parties. These two parties hav...
When looking at and understanding the historical aspect of the party systems, it is important to note that there are some number of definitions of party systems. To some degree, a party system simply can be defined as the competition between parties in the political realm in efforts to gain the support for their give...
Today, political parties can be seen throughout everyday life, prevalent in various activities such as watching television, or seeing signs beside the road while driving. These everyday occurrences make the knowledge of political parties commonly known, especially as the two opposing political parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. Republican and Democrats have existed for numerous years, predominantly due to pure tradition, and the comfort of the ideas each party presents. For years, the existence of two political parties has dominated the elections of the president, and lower offices such as mayor, or the House of Representatives. Fundamentally, this tradition continues from the very emergence of political parties during the election of 1796, principally between Federalist John Adams and Anti-federalist Thomas Jefferson. Prior to this election people unanimously conformed to the ideas of one man, George Washington, and therefore did not require the need for political parties.1 However, following his presidency the public was divided with opposing opinions, each arguing the best methods to regulate the country. Ultimately, the emergence of different opinions regarding the future of the United States involving the economy, foreign relations, ‘the masses,’ and the interpretation of the Constitution, led to the two political parties of the 1790s and the critical election of 1800.
To characterise the notion of political parties, Rod Hague and Martin Harrop choose to use the definition submitted by Giovanni Sartori, which says that a political party concerns ‘any political group identified by an official label that presents elections, and is capable of placing through elections candidates for public office’ (1976, p. 63, cited in Hague and Harrop, 2010, p. 203). Andrew Heywood defines it as ‘groups of people organised to gain formal representation or win government power’, ‘united by shared political preferences and a general ideological identity’, which function is to ‘filling the political office and the wielding of government power’ (2007, pp. 272, 275 and 455). So they all agree that parties are unified, structured and ideological groups, which aim to rise to power and govern states. Also it seems that it is the way they are perceived nowadays by the general opinion, thus it is based on theses definitions that they will be considered in this essay.
In almost each countries’ political system, political parties would be found. Political parties could divide into two main class which are authoritarian and democratic. They might explore power by-election and social movements. Political parties are usually organized by a group of people who shared the similar political ideas or ideologies. Parties are mostly focusing on extensive tasks that involve in varied perspectives of the government’s policies. There are many types of political parties, for instance core and accumulation, representative and unifying, left-wing and right-wing, and constitutional and revolutionary parties. (Heywood, 2007)
Political parties provide the public and the nation with leadership that is critical in conflict resolution processes in many areas of the government. In this paper, the party system of the American government has been discussed from history to the present, bringing out the dominant parties in the country. With the major parties controlling the majority share of the government, the American political system is robust and comprehensive as well. In fact, this is what has contributed to making America one of the most developed democracies in the world. Essentially, social groups also work together with political parties to promote the interests of the public and enhance development in a country.
In the Divide, Drucker identifies two important periods that have drastically changed our dominant political creed. He mentions that the century has begun in 1776 with the ‘Wealth of Nations’ by Adam Smith and that ten years after 1873, the great liberal parties that had marched under the banners of ‘progress’ and ‘enlightenment’ all over the west were in retreat and disarray ( Drucker 1989, p 4). He said that the European Continent immediately split into Marxist socialist and anti-Semitic socialist that both were equally anti-capitalist, and hostile to free markets and ‘bourgeois democracy’ (Drucker 1989, p 5). Drucker says that this paradigm- shift changed our political perspective in the 19 century by letting “Marxist socialist become the single largest party in every major continental European country, in France and Italy, in Germany, Austria, and even though officially suppressed in tsarist Russia”( Drucker 1989, p 6).
According to the Party Politics in America book, the major American parties are composed of three interacting parts. They are the party organization, which includes party leaders and the activists who work for party causes and candidates; the party in the government which is composed of men and women who run for and hold public office on the party’s label; and the party in the electorate are those citizens who express an attachment to the party. (Party Politics in America book)
The United States is one of many countries that has a less corrupted political party system compared to a country like North Korea. The U.S has a two party system, which has been the foundation of their political arena. Even though, many political parties can exist in the U.S there are two parties that dominate in the U.S. The two party system is a more stable and less complex compared to other political systems. The two main political parties in the U.S, are the Republicans party and the Democratic party. The two main parties have many differences and similarities in many ways when it comes to their political party. This paper will discuss how the Democratic and Republicans have different philosophical views that are divided
Throughout the years, American politics have changed from no real party affiliation, to recognizing multiple parties, but today, we focus on two. The Republican Party and the Democratic Party; each with its own sets of ideals and views on policy, many Americans follow the party footsteps to the legislation door, and then to the voting booths. Americans have strong party identity and seem to majorly vote accordingly. Political scientists and analysts alike can debate for days about rather our current two party system is beneficial or detrimental to American Society.