Defining and Conceptualizing Parties
- 7. There are many state and local party organizations across the U.S.
- 10. INSTRUCTIONS Write a 1-2 sentence definition of a political party. In groups of 3-4, discuss your individual definitions and then compose a group definition of a party, incorporating all members’ ideas. We will discuss your ideas as a class.
- 11. “A body of men united, for promoting by their joint endeavors the national interest, upon some particular principle in which they are all agreed” Edmund Burke
- 12. Inter and Intra-PartyVariation Political Party vs. Political Ideology Conservative Democrats, Liberal Republicans Politicians’ Choices ▪ Vote or caucus with another party ▪ Defect party and join another
- 13. A broad coalition of individuals who: (1) Recruit, nominate, and elect candidates for office (2) Under a given label (3)To control the government (4) In accordance with their ideas and policies.
- 15. What words, concepts, ideas, etc. come to mind when you see the following term? “political parties”
- 18. Party-in-the-Electorate Loyalty and Identification with Party Party Identification (“PID”) What happens if someone has different views? ▪ Likert Scale Strong Lib Weak Lib Lean Lib Mod Lean Cons Weak Cons Strong Cons
- 19. Party Organization Party Officials, Committees,Volunteers, Staff Functions of Party Organizations Party-in-Government Officeholders and Candidates Local, State, National Levels Examples: POTUS,VPOTUS, Governors
- 21. Intermediary Between Citizens and Govt. Bring PublicTogether; Define and Accomplish Objectives Coordination with others (e.g. interest groups, media) Nominate Candidates for Office National, State, and Local Levels Screening Mechanism Contest Elections Mobilize Electorate; EncourageVoting Engage Supporters, Persuade Undecided, Minimize Opposition
- 23. Organize Government RoleVaries (Parliamentary vs. Presidential System) Provide Accountability Government Responsibility Importance of PID Manage Conflict Reconciling Group Demands
- 26. Parties present clear ideological position/ ideology to voters Candidates support and implement party goals Voters hold party responsible during elections Parties control elected members in office
- 27. Rules—Permanent, Stable Guidelines Example: Party Membership and Structure Reality—Candidate Background, Party Legacy, Current Events (Policy, Economy) Strategy—Candidates, Campaigns, Parties, Interest Groups, Media Choice—Voters decide on if/how vote
- 29. Policy-Seeking Party Focused on Issue Positions Vote-Seeking Party Goal is WinningVotes Office-Seeking Party Emphasis on Holding Office
- 30. BENEFITS General Good Protection and Accountability Legitimacy Participation Policy Preferences DRAWBACKS “Tyranny of the Majority” “Wisdom” of the Electorate?
- 31. #1: Free Choice #2: Political Equality #3: Deliberation #4: Free Speech
Editor's Notes
- #10: Think about your answer to this question.
- #18: A political scientist named V.O Key, Jr. argued that the term “political party” was used too generally and could describe many different groups. Therefore, he proposed a three-part structure to better conceptualize the idea of political parties.
- #22: Political parties serve a variety of functions, including: 1) Serving as Intermediaries Between Citizens and Government - Parties function as institutions to bring different elements of the public together, to define objectives, and to achieve goals through policymaking. - Parties must compete with others for this role, such as interest groups. 2) Nominating Candidates for Office - Many national, state, and local elected officials are nominated by parties. - As we have seen, the role of party in carrying out this function based a country’s electoral system (e.g. use of party list). - Outcome of partisan nominations can significantly influence a party’s electoral chances and future course of development. 3) Contesting Elections - Parties mobilize the electorate, encouraging them to vote for their slate of candidates. - This requires ensuring your party base will vote, persuading undecided voters to support you, and diminishing the opposition—not an easy task.
- #23: This chart demonstrates how political parties serves as intermediaries between citizens and government. Parties are also called “linkage institutions” for this reason.
- #24: #4: Organizing Government - This role can also vary, as we have seen in our previous discussions of legislatures and executives - Parliamentary System: Majority party forms government - Presidential System: Branches centralized around partisanship #5: Providing Accountability - Parties provide voters with means to hold public officials accountable for the actions of government. Party labels (or PID) allow voters to sort through complex policy issues and come to voting decision. - Periodic elections give voters a chance to register general approval or disgust toward party’s stewardship of government. Retrospective Voting: Looking toward Past Incumbent: “Are you better off now than four years ago?” (keep status quo) Challenger: “Are you better off now than four years ago?” (want change) Prospective Voting: Looking toward Future Incumbent: “Keep us on the job, we’ll go forward together” Challenger: “Throw the bums out, elect us, and get something better #6: Managing Conflict – Reconciling competing group demands
- #30: How can we define these three types of parties; Policy-Seeking Party Issue-oriented, giving priority to policies. Includes well-defined parties and single-issue parties. Redefine political agenda to highlight important issue or issues Vote-Seeking Party Primary goal is winning elections. Policies and positions are manipulated to win votes (Catch-All Party). Organized to win office at all levels of government. Office-Seeking Party Emphasis is on winning office, at expense of policy or getting votes. Hold power alone or with others (coalitions). What type of party would you want to be in?