Are political parties still the central actors in politics - Essay Example

Politics, therefore, does not occur in a proverbial vacuum, consisting of a variety of interactions between society and the political actor and other relevant political figures that maintain responsibility for community governance. Politicians are often affiliated with a specific political party, an organisation that aims to influence the development of government party that are considered appropriate for securing the party’s objectives and agendas. Political parties serve as coalitions consisting of like-minded politicians that have the same ideologies and expectations for government.

The question at hand is whether political parties are still the central actors in politics. Though political parties are highly influential and often serve as the underpinning for how politicians identify themselves comparatively to other political figures, there is little evidence that political parties are the principle actor along a political model or system. In fact, it would appear that the media is now the central actor in politics as media services a much broader role in society as it pertains to political activity.

The media is able to influence politicians and societal members, promote real-time political activities, engage society about politically-relevant events, and even serve to expose questionable political behaviours. Political parties are no longer the central actor in politics. Political party affiliation is a method by which to classify a politician and their unique agendas as compared to other politicians. In the United States, political parties were established in the late 1700s when it became clear to those running for public office that they would need to garner public support to obtain a majority vote competitively (Nichols 1967).

As there were no established political parties in the United States prior to 1787, the ideologies of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party (the two main parties in the country) became