2. WHAT IS A POLITICAL PARTY?

3. WHAT IS A POLITICAL PARTY?
An organized group of people sharing common policy preferences and usually a general ideological position.
Simply to have a common view does not make the group a party.
It is necessary that it seeks or has political power
LIKE MINDED GROUP SEEKING POWER

4. FUNCTIONS OF A POLITICAL PARTY:
TO RAISE POLITICAL AWARENESS AND EDUCATE THE ELECTORATE, STIMULATE DEBATE
TO INFLUENCE PUBLIC OPPINION AND RAISE SUPPORT
TO CAMPAIGN AND RAISE FUNDS
TO RECRUIT AND TRAIN NEW POLITICIANS
TO SEEK POWER AND PREPARE FOR OFFICE
TO FORMULATE NEW POLICY- POLICY THINK TANK
TO SCRUTINISE THOSE IN POWER
TO WIN POLITICAL POWER BY ELECTION
HELP MAINTAIN DEMOCRACY, HELP THE ELECTORATE UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM, HELP THEM TO VOTE

5. WHAT IS A POLITICAL PARTY?
Shared; Beliefs, Views, Ideology, Oppinions +
Organisation/ Structure
Seeks Power/ Contests Elections

6. WHAT IS A Pressure Group?
Voluntary organisations formed to defend a particular interest group in society OR
promote a cause or political position

7. PARTY? PRESSURE GROUP? OTHER?
Socialists
Animal Liberation Front
socialists
SINN FEIN
BNP
A cross-bench life peer
of the House of Lords
Save the Pound
Communist Party

8. PARTY? PRESSURE GROUP? OTHER?
Conservative Future
The Queen
Trade Unions
IRA
The Government
Reform Party
(Ross Perot)
The BBC
The Church of England

9. THE EFFECTS OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS ON PARTIES
Financial Constraints
Outright banning of Parties
Duverger’s Law
Constituency Element

10. All Majoritarian 5.22 3.33 83 Alternative vote 9 3 1
Mean number of parliamentary parties (with at least one seat)
Mean number of Relevant Parliamentary parties (with more than 3% of seats)
Number of Countries
All Majoritarian
Alternative vote
Bloc Vote
2nd Ballot
FPTP
All Combined
Independent
Dependent
All Proportional
STV
Party List
TOTAL

11. Median Voter Theorem- Anthony Downs
If voters can all be represented along one dimension (i.e., if every voter's political type can be pinpointed on a line), then politicians seeking to win the election will realize that the pivotal voter required to win the election is that voter who lies at the median (middle) of the voter distribution.
This is supposed to explain why in a two-party system, candidates often end up looking strikingly similar — they both have to pitch their platform to try to win the same median voter.
The parties A and B want to catch the median voters and they will walk to the centre. The red and blue areas represent the voters already won.

12. Advantages/Disadvantages of the 2 Party System
To what Extent is there a trade off between Proportionality and Stability within Electoral Systems.
How do you strike a balance?
How democratic are parties in the election process?
INSTABILITY
PROPORTIONALITY