DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

AND

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

POSC 105

POLITICAL PARTIES AND DEMOCRACY





  1. THIS MORNING:
    1. The system of elections and voting
    2. Elections as devices for "controlling" public policy making.
    3. The role of political parties in a democracy.


  2. THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM:
    1. Reprint of last notes
    2. How elections are organized and conducted has a profound affect on political capacity and the chances of democracy.
    3. Plethora of public offices filled by elections and independent constituencies.
      1. Ballot confusion
      2. The party that wins the Congress (or one house) does not necessarily control the government.
      3. Decoupling of presidential and congressional elections leads to conflict, stalemate.
    4. Primary versus general elections.
      1. Primaries: contests for a party's nomination
        1. Kevin Vigilante first had to defeat a primary opponent before running against Patrick Kennedy.
    5. Single-member plurality, winner-take all districts.
    6. "Election day": second Tuesday in November.


  1. ELECTIONS AND PUBLIC POLICY:
    1. See the notes from the last class.
    2. Four ways of looking at elections and public policy.
      1. The simplistic view: legislators enact their constituents wishes.
        1. Direct representation
      2. A more complicated interpretation: representatives consult their constituents preferences on some questions.
        1. The public may have an impact in some policy areas but not others.
        2. Many questions of foreign policy, for example, do not attract public attention and legislators have room to maneuver on their own.
        3. In other areas an issue is so publicly that representatives cannot ignore the voters.
      3. Elections as mandates:
        1. Winners frequently interpret their victories at the polls as mandates to enact certain policies.
        2. An example: the "Contract With America"
          1. Proposed September 1994
            1. Statement embodies classical liberal principles
          2. House Republican candidates agree to support it.
          3. Republic victory in November 1994
          4. Claim of mandate January 1995
          5. An aside: why the Contract failed (see below)
      4. For elections to count as mandates certain requirements must be met:
          1. Presumably to claim a mandate a candidate or party must speak for a majority of citizens, not just those who vote.
          2. The electorate must be aware of the candidate or party's position.
          3. The electorate must have preferences.
    3. Elections as legitimizing rituals
      1. Public preferences as "dependent variables." The idea is that policies are formulated or decided and sold to the public. Elections ratify or legitimize these decisions.
        1. Example: support for IMF.


  2. THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTIES:
    1. Three propositions:
      1. Strong political parties are essential to democracy. In fact, the stronger the party system, the stronger the democracy.
      2. Weak parties have contributed to the stalemate that (many argue) characterizes American national government.
      3. Surprisingly the absence of strong parties explains why Americans are frustrated and cynical about politics, even though they may not think in these terms.


  3. STRONG PARTY SYSTEM IN THEORY:
    1. Political parties are organizations with these characteristics:
      1. Unlike "interest groups," parties strive to control government as a whole.
      2. They nominate candidates for office.
      3. They are in essence public agents, although legally they have many "private" rights.
    2. The characteristics of a responsible or disciplined party system:
      1. Organize elections and educate and mobilize the voters (e.g., create excitement, encourage turnout, etc.)
      2. Programs and platforms: present a philosophy of government and a general program of action. If platforms are clearly spelled out, they give voters a choice.
        1. Example: the Contract With America
      3. Recruit, train, and support legislative members committed to the party's general philosophy and program.
      4. Governance: The "winning" party runs government roughly according to its platform and is thus held accountable for the consequences.
        1. It can be held accountable because it disciplines legislative members: that is, legislative members follow the commands of party leaders or lose their "power."
        2. Shadow government: the opposition party "waits in the wings," offering the electorate an alternative program. It too has control over legislative members.
        3. Discipline allows voters to reward or blame parties for policy successes and failures.
    3. Parties in the U.S. do not fit this description. Nevertheless, at times the political system has briefly approximated a responsible party system.
      1. Reagan and Congress 1981.
      2. Newt Gingrich and Congress 1995.
        1. Why the Contract "movement" fell apart.


  1. NEXT TIME:
    1. The structure of American political parties and understanding politics.
    2. Reading:
      1. Start Debt and Deficits.
        1. I will discuss and explain many of the important points next week but you should really read this important book and at least understand the arguments.
      2. Patterson, We the People
        1. Chapter 8. Skim the history section, pages 234 to 241 but then read the remainder for understanding. Many of the terms I discuss are explained further here.
        2. Unfortunately, there is relatively little interpretative material.


Go to American government page

Go to H. T. Reynolds page.

Copyright © 1997 H. T. Reynolds