Page 247 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Comparative Politics and Government

Notes however, countries in which the single party in power could not be characterised in terms of a
traditional European counterpart. This observation applies to, for example, the former Arab Socialist
Union in Egypt, the Neo-Destour Party in Tunisia (renamed the Destour Democratic Rally), and the
National Liberation Front in Algeria, as well as many other parties in black Africa. Most of these
parties claimed to be more or less Socialist or at least progressive, while remaining far removed from
Communism and, in some cases, ardent foes of Communism. President Nasser attempted to establish
a moderate and nationalistic Socialism in Egypt. In Tunisia the Neo-Destour Party was more republican
than Socialist and was inspired more by the example of the reforms in Turkey under Kemal Ataturk
than by Nasserism. In black Africa, single parties have often claimed to be Socialist, but with few
exceptions they rarely are in practice. Single parties in developing countries are rarely as well organised
as Communist parties. In Turkey the Republican People’s Party was more a cadre party than a mass-
based party. In Egypt it has been necessary to organise a core of professional politicians within the
framework of a pseudoparty of the masses. In sub-Saharan Africa the parties are most often genuinely
mass based, but the membership appears to be motivated primarily by personal attachment to the
leader or by tribal loyalties, and organisation is not usually very strong. It is this weakness in
organisation that explains the secondary role played by such parties in government. Some regimes,
however, have endeavoured to develop the role of the party to the fullest extent possible. The politics
of Ataturk in Turkey were an interesting case study in this regard. It was also Nasser’s goal to increase
the influence of the Arab Socialist Union, thereby making it the backbone of the regime. This process
is significant in that it represents an attempt to move away from the traditional dictatorship, supported
by the army or based on tribal traditions or on charismatic leadership, toward a modem dictatorship,
supported by one political party. Single-party systems can institutionalise dictatorships by making
them survive the life of one dominant figure.
10.2 Functions of Political Parties

The political parties perform several important functions in modern political system that may be
enumerated as under:
1. The parties unite, simplify and stabilise the political process. They bring together sectional
interests, overcome geographical disturbances, and provide coherence to sometimes divisive
government structures. For instance, the American Democratic Party provides a bridge to bring
together the southern conservatives and northern liberals; the German Democratic Party bridges
the gulf between the Protestants and the Catholics in Germany. In federal systems all political
parties emphasise the uniting of different governmental structures, the extreme case being of
South Africa. In this way, political parties tend to provide the highest common denominator.
2. Political parties struggle for capturing power; they strive to form order out of chaos. They seek
to widen the interests they represent and harmonise these interests with each other. Though
interest articulation is performed by pressure groups, the work of interest aggregation is done
by the parties. For instance, the Conservative Party of Britain, in spite of the nature of its internal
organisation and distribution of power, depends upon the support of diverse economic, social
and geographical sections in English politics. All parties strive to extend the area of their support.
3. In a liberal democratic system the parties use means of mass media to give political education
to the people. The parties may organise and control some unions or organisations for
‘occupational and social implantation’. (Hening and Pindar) In a totalitarian system the party
in power works for the mobilisation of support by activating the population by means of rallies,
uniforms, flags and other displays of unity to emphasise the identification of the individual
with the political party.
4. While increasing the scope of political activity and widening the base of popular participation,
political parties perform the important function of recruiting political 1eaders. Men in authority
are recruited through some channel. In political systems having weak and ill-organised political
parties, power remains in the hands of the elites that are recruited from the traditional groups
like hereditary ruling families or military organisations. In totalitarian countries where only
one party is in power, political recruitment is made from the ranks of the same party. It is only

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