7. There are many state and local party
organizations across the U.S.
8.
9.
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.
14.
15. What words, concepts, ideas, etc. come to mind
when you see the following term?
“political parties”
16.
17.
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
20.
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
22.
23. Organize Government
RoleVaries (Parliamentary vs. Presidential System)
Provide Accountability
Government Responsibility
Importance of PID
Manage Conflict
Reconciling Group Demands
24.
25.
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
28.
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?
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.
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.
This chart demonstrates how political parties serves as intermediaries between citizens and government. Parties are also called “linkage institutions” for this reason.
#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
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?
