Summary

Parties

USA

The authors of the following summary on the US party system have put together what they regard as being the most important characteristics of the system and listed the advantages and disadvantages.

Summary: Parties in the USA

The main characteristics of America's political party system can be summarized in the following way: Parties are often little more than an electoral cartel of completely different party authorities; they are, above all, machines designed to achieve personal power. They have no hierarchical structure (autonomous party authorities, the party leadership has little means for enforcing party discipline). They are organized in a federalist way (national party bodies have little influence). American political parties have no fixed membership and contributors to party funds. There is no party financing for electoral precinct candidates (increasing influence of interest groups...) There are no annual party conferences. Political platforms are only created prior to presidential elections; there are no parties with a distinct political program. Primary elections are increasingly encroaching upon the parties' nomination function; together with the media they are personalizing political problems and pushing back party influence. The candidates have stronger ties to their electorate than they do to their parties (electoral law; financing elections).

Advantages:

	loose and open structure offers individuals and groups better opportunity to participate (few barriers preventing citizens from playing a role)
	Differentiated expression of the will of the people (a wide range of interests are articulated)
	Room is offered to voters for a wide range of ideas
	A wide spectrum of opinion within parties provides the possibility to absorb protest

Disadvantages:

	A lack of ideas from official party committees — conformity with public opinion
	A political will is not formed by the party, but at differing party levels
	A lack of ability for parties to act (forming political wings, heterogeneity)
	Greatly influential role of external backers (industrial federations, trade unions...)

[Taken from: Gerhard Greiner/Hans Woidt: Das politische System der USA; in: Politik und Unterricht 13, 2/1987]

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Subjects: Human Rights I Democracy  I Parties I Examples I Europe I Globalisation I United Nations I Sustainability

Methods:    Teaching Politics    II    Peace Education    II    Methods

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