Party systems are a phenomenon linking allaspects of life in every single country. What explains such a bold statement? First of all, the essence of this phenomenon, a detailed consideration of which will be presented below.
Party systems and their types
In political science it is accepted to begin considerationany social phenomenon with its characteristics. In this sense, party systems are special forms of organizing political power in a country where its main elements are the determining factor - political parties. The definition appears rather vague, and therefore it is necessary to identify the main features of the phenomenon under consideration.
Party systems are characterized by:
- the relationship with the state - it is in this case that the state apparatus interacts with the party;
- the presence of legal parties - i.e. their legal approval by the state;
- the number of parties actually participating in political life;
- the possibility of creating legal coalitions.
In this regard, it is necessary to change the abovedefinition. Thus, party systems are special forms of organizing political life in the country, according to which the number of key elements of the phenomenon under consideration and their mutual relations are determined.
However, the signs are not only the basis of the characteristic. In fact, they stipulate the classifications to which party systems are subjected. And their types can be represented as follows:
- by the number of parties active in the country(typology of J. Sartori) - one-party (Cuba), with the leading party (China), with the predominant or dominant party (Japan until 1993), a system of simple pluralism (USA), moderate pluralism (FRG), extreme pluralism parties more than 5, for example, Italy);
- a more simple division by the same featurelead the majority of political scientists, but it looks like this: one-party, two-party, atomized (unlimited number of parties) and multi-party.
- By the legality of the existence of parties - non-party, with a fixed and roll-call list of parties, with a free number of parties.
The three classifications presented arebasic. Be that as it may, the majority of political scientists share party systems exclusively in terms of the number of parties and freedom of access to political life. It is this approach that reveals the relationship between the system and its main element.
Political parties and party systems
The political party is always the mainelement of the phenomenon under consideration. On the basis of the content of the current players in the political arena, on the whole there is a functioning system and its development. Or rather - the transition from one species to another.
The content of a political party is determined by the fact,by what means does it achieve influence in the state. The funds are divided into democratic and quasi-democratic. In history, there are many examples where the hidden behind the mask cares of the people and their interests de facto methods were authoritarian. This situation is explained by the simple use of the institution of suffrage, which is inherent in most modern countries.
So, political parties and party systems are connected in the following aspects:
- The party system determines which parties and in what quantities will operate in the territory of a particular state;
- The actual number of parties in the political arena of the country determines the type of system, and, consequently, its development;
- the legal consolidation of the system depends on which parties are currently in power;
- a change in the actual number and quality of political parties inevitably leads to the transformation of the system.
These are the key key points that determine the type of government and political regime in the country, as well as the essence of the state itself.
