Page 242 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Javeed Ahmad Bhat, Lovely Professional University Unit 10: Party System

Unit 10: Party System Notes

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
10.1 Meaning, Definition and Classification of Political Parties
10.2 Functions of Political Parties
10.3 Kinds of Party System
10.4 Summary
10.5 Key-Words
10.6 Review Questions
10.7 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit students will be able to:
• Understand the Meaning, Definition and Classification of Political Parties
• Explain the Functions of Political Parties
• Discuss the Kinds of Party System
Introduction

In contemporary states it is difficult to imagine there being politics without parties. Indeed, in only
two kinds of states today are parties absent. First, there are a few small, traditional societies, especially
in the Persian Gulf, that are still ruled by the families who were dominant in the regions they control
long before the outside world recognized them as independent states. Then there are those regimes
in which parties and party activities have been banned; these regimes are run either by the military
or by authoritarian rulers who have the support of the military. While these interludes of party-less
politics can last for some years, ultimately the suppression of parties has proved to be feasible only as
a temporary measure. As the military authorities relax their grip on power, or as unpopular policies
stir discontent, so parties start to re-emerge from ‘underground’ or from their headquarters abroad.
The difficulty that regimes have in suppressing party politics is one indicator of just how central
parties are to governing a modern state.
If the conduct of both politics and government in modern states seems to require that there be political
parties, this does not mean that parties are always revered institutions. Far from it. In some countries
there is a long-standing distrust of parties. This is especially true in the United States where anti-
party sentiments are evident from the very founding of the slate in the late eighteenth century. At
times this anti-partism has manifested itself in moves to restrict the activities of parties. For example,
at the beginning of the twentieth century, Progressive reformers in many of the American states
introduced laws that prohibited parties from contesting local government elections. This did not
prevent them from participating informally in these elections, but it did bring about a significant
reduction of party activity at this level of politics. Moreover, even in countries where extensive party
involvement in public lire appeared to have a high degree of public acceptance, dissatisfaction with
politics could rebound on all the major parties. For example, in Germany in 1993 a protest movement
calling itself ‘Instead of Party’ won seals in the Hamburg provincial parliament. And organizations
that are recognizably parties may deliberately not use the word ‘party’ in their name, because of the
connotations that word has. This has been true of the Gaullists in France and of the Northern League
in Italy.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 237