1. Cooperation & Conflict in Competitive Party Systems

2. Classification
Competitive party systems can be classified by the ___________ of parties as well as by the patterns of ___________ or _____________ among them

3. Types of Competitive Party Systems
_________________________________– dominated by two parties or have two dominant parties & Election laws that usually create legislative majorities for one of them
_________________________________– parties establish pre-electoral coalitions so voters know which parties will work together to form a government
________________________– election laws & party systems almost ensure no single party wins a legislative majority and no tradition of pre-election coalitions

4. By Degree of Polarization
_________________ Party System – parties commanding most of the legislative seats are not too far apart on policies & have reasonable amount of trust in one anther
_________________ Party System – legislature is dominated by parties that are far apart on issues or are antagonistic toward each other
_________________ System– political leaders are able to bridge intense differences between antagonistic voters through power-sharing, broad coalitions, and decentralization
Example: After WWII, Austria used consociational understanding that made stable government possible between socialists and Catholics

5. Consensual and Conflictual System Examples
Consensual Majoritarian Party Systems
United States
Great Britain
(Third parties do exist, but do not really get much representation or power in government)
Conflictual majoritarian Party System
Austria – produced brief civil war between Socialists & others!
Consensual Multiparty Systems
Norway & Sweden
Conflictual Multiparty Systems
France post-WWII
Weimar Germany
Powerful communist parties on the left & conservative parties on the right

6. Consequences
Although the number of parties affects political stability, the degree of ________________ among parties is more important
Two-party systems are ___________ & _________, but may be dangerous if parties are ________________
Multiparty systems consisting of relatively moderate parties can offer stability, esp. if parties work together in ______________________
Pure multiparty systems without pre-electoral coalitions are prone to ________________________

7. Activity: Designing a Democracy
Work in a small group to decide what features your ideal democracy would have
Create a poster advertising your democracy to attract people to live there