A political party is a group of people whose main purpose is to ensure that their candidates attain and maintain power. However this is not their sole purpose. Ever since their creation in the 1820s political parties have served for diverse purposes. For example parties serve to incite movements, and meet crises, as well as they recruit and socialize leaders. Furthermore parties instigate feelings of identity and they, in addition, provide a channel through which one leader can exert force over another one. Organizational structures of political parties, their sources of money, and the type of political party, vary among different countries.
A political party is a group of officials or would-be officials who are linked with a sizable group of citizens into an organization; a chief object of this organization is to ensure that its officials attain power or are maintained in power. Parties are not exclusively for democracies, they may be used to seize control of the government by force. A party joins people together in a formally organized structure. The party's nature as a structure, tying together a large group of officials and citizens, provides an avenue by which one part may control or communicate with another.
The first parties developed with the first modern electoral democracy held in the United States. Well organized parties were in existence by the 1820s. The Democratic Party's roots can be traced back to this time. It is the oldest party in the world.
Besides their obvious purpose regarding elections, political parties may serve to mobilize the people for special purposes or to meet crises. Parties may serve to incite demonstrations and strikes, or movements against a regime. Many parties originate because their purpose is to overthrow the system. Today, the most important focus of opposition to many regimes lies with political parties.
Another use of political parties different from the usual one, is the recruitment and socialization of leaders. A political party seeks out promising young people, gives them experience at relatively small jobs, and gradually moves the most productive to more important jobs, while simultaneously inculcating them the necessary values.
In addition to achieving multiple uses, political parties become an important part of their participants' identities. For those who become quite active, the political party may become a vital and central personal concern. In a fluctuating political world, a strong sense of identification toward a political party provides continuity. Parties may last for centuries.
A final unpredicted event of political parties is they provide means for one leader to exert control over another political leader. Political parties spread so widely within the set of political leaders and out into the mass of people that it offers an excellent channel for power through which political leaders can control the actions either of political leaders or the citizens.
Organizational structure among parties in the United States tends to be loose and informal. Unlike with most organizations in the U.S., a formal membership is not required in order to be part of a party. Some other countries, however, do have parties with organizational structures. When somebody wants to join the party, they have to apply for a membership.
Many sources provide parties with the money they need in order to finance their activities. Parties in the United States do not have a monopoly on political finance. Most of their money is raised by candidates, individual contributors, and organized interest groups. Other countries, however, may raise their money through methods like public finance, individual memberships, bribes and kickbacks, interest group donations, profits from business enterprise, and subsidies from foreign countries.
Another aspect of political parties political scientists are concerned with are the patterns they form. A one party system is one in which only a single political party is allowed to be active. In such systems, the government and the party are closely identified, because the government enforces the rule that other parties are not allowed to be active. A dominant party system is similar to the one party system in that other political parties are allowed to function openly and with reasonable effectiveness. A common pattern of dominant party systems is a long term dominance that eventually gives way to true competition. A third variant is the two party system. Two party systems are characterized by the fact that no one party has power assured for itself, but only two parties can normally expect to have a chance at doing so. Most democratic systems are multiparty systems. They offer the voter a wider range of choice, and each party is more distinctive.
Political parties emerged after the first electoral democracy in the United States. Their main purpose is to ensure that their leaders will attain and maintain power, but they also serve other purposes. They mobilize the people for special purposes or to meet crises, they recruit and socialize leaders, they provide a sense of identification, and they provide a channel through which leaders can exert force over one another. Each country's organizational structure of political parties, sources of money, and type of political party, is different.
United States Political Parties
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