Political Parties and the Mechanisms of Politics, Essay Example

Democracy, as a political system is based on competition of ideas and programs, based on the preferences of the public. By voting, the public takes part in the decision making process. However, according to Shively, parties were first invented for self-serving purposes. The below review will focus on the main development steps of political parties, and the electoral system of Western democracies.

The division of Republican and Democratic parties is greater today than ever before, according to latest election results in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.

Political parties have a great advantage over other organizations: they can mobilize masses. In democracies, it is in the best interest of political parties to get people to vote and take part in the decision making process. However, in non-democratic countries, like Singapore, the People’s Action Party is not motivated to get people to vote, as it holds “81 out of 87 seats in the Parliament” (Shively, 254). Parties can also mobilize people for special purposes, in crisis situations, or when public approval is needed. As an example, public vote usually takes place when a country is about to sign an international agreement to join an organization. Several examples have been seen during the EU expansion. In Sweden, a public voting was held in 1994 (The Guardian). More recently, crisis situations triggered parties to mobilize people, just like in Greece, where the New Democracy Party staged a rally against austerity measures affecting working people.

The recruitment and socialization of party members and leaders is described in detail by  Shively. According to the author, female politicians often join the party in the United Kingdom based on the level of support provided for their career progression and development. For members, leaders, and voters as well, political parties are a source of political identity. Therefore, the connection between the persona of the party and the individual is based on shared values, vision, and ideology. Further, priorities and principles need to be shared in order to create party identification.

Political parties also act as a channel for power, and many party members serve in public organizations in order to gain control over groups’ ideological development, and obtain relevant connections, as well as power.

The organizational structure of a political party determines the level of power and influence assigned to each unit. In the Conservative Party (currently serving the second term) of the United Kingdom, for example, the party leader controls the actions of the Members of the House of Commons, the Central Office, and the Management Board.

The finance of the Party is controlled by a special division within the party, however, it is also overseen by the current government. The main sources of party incomes are public finance, individual membership fees, bribes and kickbacks (mostly non-democratic countries), interest-group donations, business enterprise income, and foreign subsidies.

Non-democratic countries have a one-party system, and this was the case in the countries formerly belonging to the Eastern Bloc prior to 1989. There are also dominant-party systems, for example in Mexico. Two-party systems, defined by Shively (266) as a country where “no one party can count on always holding power, but only two parties can normally expect to have a chance at doing so”, just like in the United States. Representing a true choice, the multiparty system consists of more than two major parties, and they all have a significant number of seats.

Works Cited

Shively, P. “Parties: A Linking and Leading Mechanism in Politics” In: Power and choice: An introduction to political science (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. 2011. Print.

The Guardian. “Twenty years since Sweden voted to join the EU – what’s changed?” 2014. Web.