Political Parties

2303 Words5 Pages

What influences parties’ choices between clientelistic and programmatic citizen- politician linkages? In the context of democratization, many authoritarian regimes used to deploy clientelism as the main strategy for maintaining its rules (Magaloni 2006). Even in democratic institutions, parties could systematically and continuously engage in clientelism to maintain long time ruling (Piattoni 2001, Kitschelt 2007). Those hegemonic parties, once defeated in elections, faced an important choice of where to go. In various accounts, different parties went through different lines of development, producing different outcomes. Compared to Shefter’s (1977) analysis that the choice of clientelistic/programmatic strategies is path-dependent and fixed, this paper seeks to address the changes. By investigating two cases of former hegemonic parties’ transition after electoral defeat (KMT in Taiwan and PRI in Mexico), I examined why parties made different choices, and how those different moves altered the transformation of parties. Furthermore, I offered a theoretical pattern in conclusion to differentiate different forms of transformation by two factors: resource control and ideological strength.

Theoretical terms and method

Two key terms in this paper need to be clarified in advance: resource control and ideological strength. By resource control, I mean particularly the financial resources parties possess and distribute for the sake of winning elections. Resources include control over central or local government budget, access to public subsidies allocation and other properties owned by parties. Levels of resource control can be measured by different offices held by the party and the party’s expenditure structure. It is generally perce...

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...dence direction, with President Lee Teng-hui openly announced that Taiwan and mainland China were de facto two different states. This shift had angered many pro-unification party bases, and motivated some KMT politicians to form the New Party (NP) in 1993. NP went on becoming the third largest party, and attracted many votes from traditional KMT supporters. After 2000 election, James Soong also formed his own party, People First Party (PFP), and replaced NP as the major pro-unification party in the system. As the regime cleavage has effectively faded following the successful democratization and regime change, state-identity cleavage became the major salient issue of Taiwan elections. The ambiguous position KMT took on state-identity issues made it hard to perform well among sharply divided ideological voters, and the party was at risk of losing its own “location”.

Is Party Competition Still Driven by Ideology?
1444 Words | 3 Pages
In conclusion, it is for sure that the competitive party systems give a plenty of advantages in case of the improvements in the political, economic and civic welfares. But the modern party competition is not based solely on the ideology competition in many states, particularly in those developed countries with the long-standing democracies (USA, UK, most European countries). The facts in support of this argument are next: the changing proportion of mass-cadre parties, globalization, the increasing role of mass media, the domination of the middle class. In this essay the definition of the party, party systems was provided. The arguments for the main conclusion were represented and discussed in detail what resulted in the aforementioned conclusion.
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The Two-Party System
1627 Words | 4 Pages
So, what happens after a party wins? It has been observed, “Legislative seats almost always work to benefit the party winning the most votes” (Tufte, 1973). If the share of the votes increases, the share of the seats increases, and in most elections the winning party still will probably have less than 65% of the vote. The theory of the Cube Law says that the vote odds equal the seat odds, and that the outcomes of the votes to seats ratio will be predictable no matter what (Tufte, 1973). Although this Law has not necessarily predicted a correct outcome in every election since its birth, it should be noted that its accuracy around the whole world is higher than in just specific
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Party Systems of Canada
3122 Words | 7 Pages
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...
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Poliical Parties in America
1555 Words | 4 Pages
Tavits, Margit. "Party Systems in the Making: The Emergence and Success of New Parties in New Democracies." British Journal of Political Science 38.1 (2008): 113-33. JSTOR. Web. 26 May 2014.
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Compare And Contrast Political Parties
365 Words | 1 Pages
Political parties, like interest groups, are organized groups that effort to influence the government by electing their associates to important government offices. The first party system appeared in the 1970s and pitted the federalist beside the Jeffersonian Republican. Over the years, the federalists progressively weakened and disappeared altogether after the pro-British sympathies of some Federalist leaders for the duration of the War of 1812 led to charges of betrayal against the party. From the collapse of the federalist until 1830s, American had only one political party, the Jeffersonian Republicans, who gradually came to be known as the Democrats. There was strong factional conflict within the Democratic Party, principally between the
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The Spectrum of Political Parties
1229 Words | 3 Pages
When it comes to the issues dealt with by all Americans, you generally have few choices with which to align yourself. You can either decide to stand on the right, taking a conservative viewpoint: believing in personal responsibility, limited government, free market, etc. with notable parties such as the Republican Party and the Peace and Freedom Party. Alternatively, you can stand on the left, taking the more liberal route: holding ideals such as government action and equal opportunity. Those parties include the Democratic Party and the Green Party. However, it is not a black and white cutoff between conservative and liberal, rather a circular spectrum going to the far left, the far right, and meeting back up. Therefore, there are many places one can stand on any given issue.
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Political Parties in the United States
1812 Words | 4 Pages
Political parties have been around since almost the beginning of this great country. Although George Washington strongly opposed political parties, and also warned the nation to stay away from forming political parties, the first political parties were formed right under his own nose. In George Washington’s cabinet was where the first parties started. The cause of these parties was simply differences in views. The thought of leaders of these two completely different parties was Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson started what then was known of as Republican or the Anti-Federalist. On the other hand Hamilton started what was known of as the Federalist Party. Both of these parties formed in the seventeen hundreds. These two parties have evolved into today being known as the Democratic, and the Republican parties. On the contrary one of the largest third party groups, the tea party was formed just recently in the year two thousand and nine. All three of these political parties effect our government today.
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Does a Minority Government Hinder a Governing Party?
919 Words | 2 Pages
Contrary to popular belief, a minority government does not necessarily hinder a governing party. When practiced correctly, a minority government can be an improvement on single-party majority. Instead of one party controlling government, minority governments allow for multi-party governance, which promotes compromise between political parties. On the whole, minority government decreases stability and requires continuous cooperation with opposition parties. Although faced with many challenges, there are several beneficial aspects to a minority government. This paper will argue that a minority government does not hinder a governing party, and in fact can be beneficial in numerous ways. Most importantly a minority government allows the Prime Minister to maintain a range of important resources which allow for an effective government, minority governments deliver a more open and inclusive decision making process, and a minority government guarantees the confidence of the House for a certain amount of time.
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The First Political Parties
2273 Words | 5 Pages
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.
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Political Parties: Party Identification
1767 Words | 4 Pages
Party identification is the political party that an individual categorizes them self with. Political parties came about as a way to organize citizens with similar beliefs and attitudes. These parties then attempt to influence the government by electing members into office. Today there are two main parties people can identify: Republican and Democrat. There is also a third choice, being an Independent, but for the purpose of this paper this group will not be recognized as a political party. These reasons will be discussed later. There are many different theories as to why people do or do not identify with a political party, including social psychology, issue related, and psychological attachments. I believe the social psychology theory has the right idea. Sociology is about studying human society and how it develops and functions. So, it makes sense that social factors would have a big impact on whether we identify with a political party or not.
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Anthony Down's Voting Model Accuracy
2077 Words | 5 Pages
During the second half of the past century the notion that, political science should be treated as a science became extremely popular among academics specially in the United States. One of the most prominent exposers of this school of thought was Anthony Downs, who developed a theorem to explain in a rather economic sense, how and why voters behave in a certain way when it comes to voting. Downs did not only applied his theory to the way voters behave, he also used it to explain the way political parties align themselves when it comes to elections in a two and a multiparty system nevertheless this essay will analyze Downs’ claims about a two party system only. This essay argues that the Downs’ model has proven to be accurate in many cases throughout history, nevertheless it makes a series of assumptions about voters and parties that can not be considered realistic neither in 1957, when he published his paper An Economic Theory of Political Action in Democracy in 1957 nor in 2013. This essay also acknowledges that fact that this theory might help to explain how parties behave but it is by no means the only explanation. Furthermore this essay will prove that it is a multiplicity of factors rather than an economic theory what can help us understand why parties behave the way they do. In order to support the argument previously stated this essay will state and critically analyze a number of Downs assumptions, then his theory will be outlined. Then it will carefully consider how effective it has been at predicting the way in which parties align themselves by examining the behavior of political parties during general elections in different countries.
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Post-Democratization Politics: Clientelism and Corruption
1063 Words | 3 Pages
. The constitutional heritage of former regimes, in which public resources have been widely utilized to obtain sustenance of backing networks causing the complication of administrative processing, influences the political landscape of the state after democratization (Gee, 2015, p. 42). Different types of backing and clientelism prevail across the political system and administrative procedures, as proved by yielding and acquisition operations being frequently adjusted on the basis of individual relations. Moreover, the elevating level of dependency on costs for political crusades has developed opportunities for political corruption and state seizure, especially at the local level (Strachan, 2014a, p. 12). Thus, the facts demonstrate that elevated levels of costs of political crusades and campaigns stimulate lawmakers and members of councils of provincial and district
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Choose Political Party
845 Words | 2 Pages
Choosing a political party is an important decision to make in today’s American society. The options for the political parties are Democrat, Republican, and Independent. Picking a political party can happen for some people at a young age. I chose my political party when I was 16 years old. I chose Independent. My parents are Democrats themselves. It makes for an interesting discussion at the dinner table when talking about politics. Some people will choose their political party for a few different reasons. Some people will choose their political party just to be the same thing as their parents, because they really believe in what either party is saying, and sometimes people feel pressured to do so.
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Relations Between China and Taiwan
1814 Words | 4 Pages
Relation between china and Taiwan Introduction The current conflict between china and Taiwan originally began in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek (President of Republic of China) and his followers fled to Taiwan after their defeat by the Chinese communist party (led by Moa Tse-Tung) in the Chinese civil war, which erupted immediately after the Second World War. In 1950, the Chinese Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and invaded Taiwan, to unify all of China under their rule. Their plan failed, when the United States sent naval forces to defend Taiwan. Since then, both countries have existed in neither a state of complete independence nor integration of neither war nor peace.
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Essay On Political Parties
721 Words | 2 Pages
Political parties are the link between general society and the representative machinery of our government. In order for an effective democracy to be in place, these political parties must be continually operative in the functions that they carry out. They are vehicles in which groups of people as well as individuals work together to secure political power, and to exercise that...
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Political Parties

Is Party Competition Still Driven by Ideology?

The Two-Party System

Party Systems of Canada

Poliical Parties in America

Compare And Contrast Political Parties

The Spectrum of Political Parties