POLSCI 202
UMASS Boston
Prof. Shuai Jin
Party Systems
Political Parties
· A political party aims to attain and hold political power.
· seek to influence policy by getting candidates and members elected or appointed to public office
· Functions of Parties
· Articulate and aggregate political interests
· Recruit and train leaders, nominate candidates
· Mobilize the electorate
· Form and sustain governments
Party Systems
· Dominant-party system
· Two party system
· Multiparty system
Dominant-Party Systems
· Country contains one large political party that dominates politically
· Dominant-party often controls legislative and executive branches
· Can happen in democracies
· India (1947 – 1970s); South Africa (1994 – present); Japan (1955 - 2009, 2012 - present)
· Often less than fully democratic if dominant-party has advantages (but other parties are allowed)
· Ex. Mexico (1920s – 2000)
Single-Party System
· One form of dominant-party system
· Authoritarian system in which parties besides the single dominant party are banned or disallowed
· Ex. Soviet Union (1917 – 1991)
· Ex. Nazi Germany (1933 – 1945)
· Ex. North Korea (1948 – present)
Two-Party Systems
· Political party system consisting of two significant parties
· Two parties have duopoly on governing
· Ex.: United States; Ghana
· Some countries have “2+ party systems”
· Two main parties, with several smaller parties
· Ex.: United Kingdom; Spain
Multiparty Systems
· Political party system with more than two major parties that have opportunities to govern
· Ex.: Germany, northern Europe
· Ex.: Brazil, Mexico
· Multiparty systems can be:
· Relatively
fragmented (many small parties)
· Relatively
concentrated (few large parties)
Factors Affecting Party Systems
· Electoral systems:
· Plurality / Majority rules -> Two party system
· Proportional Representation / Mixed -> Multiparty system
· Salient political identities:
· Class, race, ethnicity, religion, region, language, policies
· Diverse societies -> more parties
· Geography, history, economy, culture
· Many dominant-party in Africa, Asia
Effects of Plurality/Majority + Two-party
· Effective government by manufacturing the majority
· Voters connect with individual representatives
· Move towards the “median voter”: hedge against extremism
· Wasted votes
· Strategic voting: “voting against” behavior
· Negative campaigning: “villainize” the opposing party
· Dilute voter enthusiasm and turnout
· Partisan power
· Districting (shapes and sizes of districts) can result in more/less seats for different parties
· Districts can be
gerrymandered, with irregular shapes giving advantage to certain groups
The Median Voter Theorem
· Two-party systems lead to centrism?
Effects of PR/Mixed + Multiparty
· Allow for a greater range of interests expressed
· E.g. allow ethnic or religious parties to win seats especially when these groups are not geographically concentrated
· Sharpening and expansion of different ideologies
· Parties need to distinct themselves by ideologies
· Strong party discipline
· E.g. party list system
· Allow new issues to enter politics
· E.g. environmental politics
· Expand representation of women and minorities
· Parties can place women and minorities high on their party lists
· Extreme parties
· Government instability
· Forming coalition is a political art