Introduction to Comparative Politics. Social Sciences Essay

Comparative Politics
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June 25, 2020
1 Describe in detail the main features, theories, types, importance, role and functions of political parties, party members, party organizations and party systems. Provide examples.
Political parties are essential for the proper functioning of the government. It allows individuals who share a common set of beliefs or ideologies to come together and represent segments of the population that share the same belief. In general, parties help advocate and pursue a particular government policy whenever they win enough number of electoral seats. One example of this is the general policy of the Republican party against abortion, same-sex marriage, or marijuana, among others.
Thus, the reason why people vote for political candidates based on their party-representation is because of the firm belief that a candidate shares the will of the party itself.
Accordingly, countries could have different kinds of political parties, such as (1) cadre or (2) mass-based parties. While cadre parties are controlled by a group of individuals coming from the elites, mass-based parties are those which are formed through the unification of adherents from across the country that shares the same ideology as the party itself. In other words, mass-based parties usually derive their income and manpower from its millions of supporters. Aside from these two, several countries have political parties that exhibit a mixture of cadre and mass-based parties.
Political parties can also be described using the party system that is utilized in a country. The three types of party systems that exist in every state around the world are either (1) single-party system, (2) two-party system, or (3) multi-party systems. Each of these refers to the number of political parties that are competing against one another, each one having their own distinct platform or ideologies. One example of a two-party system is the American pa...