Throughout the world there are multiple democracies or authoritarian states, there are always political parties to serve as a legitimate form of governing. But there are many functions for the political parties to do in fully functioning democratic systems.
Purposes that Political Parties Serve:
Diverse Interests and Representation of Them:
In functioning democracies, there are many political parties that claim to represent a various interest. In a fully functioning democracy, not everyone can have the same opinion about everything, therefore there are at least two political parties that competes in the system to be the voice of different opinions. Also, the political parties of functioning democracies tend to bring people together who shares similar beliefs about the issues in the country.
Mobilizing the Voters:
One of the crucial aspects of political parties is to mobilize the citizens, who are eligible to be voters, to go to the ballot and cast their vote. To mobilize the voters, they engage in varying activities such as campaign rallies and reaching to voters via media.
Platform Development:
In order to survive the democratic system, political parties must have a platform to highlight their stance on their stance on certain aspects: their economic policy, their social stance, foreign affairs, environmental concerns. With the help of these platforms, political parties are able to promote and effectively advertise their policies.
Candidate Providing:
Probably the most vital part of the political parties is to find suitable candidates that for them are going to run for political office. To assist their nominees, they often give them resources, and training. Along with this, political parties teach them the required responsibilities and skills to represent their constituents the best way possible.
Legitimacy to the Government:
Another crucial factor that the political parties in a functioning democratic system is that they give legitimacy to the governments that they take a part in. The party or the coalition that frequently secures a majority in the legislative body in the country forms the government. By constituting the government, they have the offices of president and prime minister.
Legislations:
The party or the coalition that constitutes the government generally passes legislations in their term. Elected officials from the government work cooperatively to discuss, argue and put legislations that are needed in the country into effect. Typically, the legislation that the government passes are aligned with the interests of the party or the parties that are in the government.
Accountability:
Political parties that are represented in the legislative body of the country must be open to accountability. The most vital role here is in the oppositions, where their job is to hold the government accountable to their actions. They do this by pointing out the differences that they promised to the constituents and the legislation that they have passed. To do these actions they call in rallies, organize press conferences and argue with the government in the legislative body if possible. Finally, one of the main reasons of the opposition is to point to the corruption, if there is in the government, scandals.
Compromises:
To pass the legislations of the government generally political parties need to compromise on issues and cooperate for the best interest of the country. It is vital to remember that each political party represents people with different types of opinions. Usually, political parties bring these people together to pass the legislations that are needed. But to pass the legislations, the political parties must find a solution that is acceptable to all the parties that are in the discussion table.
Stability:
Often, political parties give countries the political stability that they require in order to prosper and grow in economic terms. They ensure the stability by establishing the framework and peaceful transition of power after election results. Finally, political parties use peaceful negations about their differences.
Civil Engagement:
Frequently, political parties promote civil engagement for the democracy to fully function. They promote civil engagement by encouraging them to cast their votes in the election and joining political parties, volunteering for campaigns.
Marginalized Group Interests:
Finally, political parties represent the interest and the rights of the marginalized groups. These marginalized groups include women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. By including these people in their ranks, they champion the policies that are specifically towards the problems of these groups. These people may address the social inequalities towards them.
Resources & Bibliography:
- https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/political-parties/
- https://www.history.com/news/founding-fathers-political-parties-opinion
- https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/sam-rosenfeld-it-takes-three-or-more/
Leave a Reply