Effectievness of Political Party - Article Example

To what extent can political parties provide an effective vehicle for the representation of individual and collective interests? INTRODUCTION The origin of political parties in most nation-states has been closely linked to either a revolution, independence struggle, community based struggle against actual or perceived injustice, religious outlook or simply a common cause not forming part of this list. Most parties evolved eventually to have a say in the government’s apparatus so as to safeguard their common cause. This struggle for power generally took place within and sometimes outside the purview of legislatures. While some from western democracy were formed to advice monarchy towards nation’s expansion, others came forward to break free from colonialism. Hence it would be prudent to say that throughout the political history of mankind, parties originated with a sense of purpose, whether for individual representation or for collective interests of the masses. AIM This paper aims to determine the extent to which a political party in contemporary world can provide an effective vehicle for the representation of individual and collective interests. HISTORY It is evident that throughout the history of mankind, the political parties have mostly evolved with one sense of purpose, and have sustained for one, the former and latter may or may not always the same. Hence is the relevance of this study. Unfortunately politics “naturally” involves conflict and division, and that its true goals are to secure the economic interests and political influence of groups divided along lines of class, ethnicity, race, and religion. From the vantage point of the 20th century, some political scientists have concluded that party competition, far from corrupting a society, measurably strengthens and integrates it by providing a way to include and represent different groups and interests. According to expected tradition, political leaders should act according to a model of virtue that involved placing the common good of people above the interests of a fraction of the society. Leaders acting to benefit only themselves or a narrow portion of the society were considered corrupt. However, party competition required public figures to act upon a mutually contrary set of assumptions.1 This aspect has always been the turning point in the history of political party and it has gradually shifted from an organisation that represented people to an organisation which became self serving. An organisation which has forgotten its raison d’etre cannot look after people’s interests adequately. Finally, it will collapse into another self serving organisation. Thus, it is important to study the aspects of formation of a political party and the prevailing governmental systems, both of which have profound effect on its efficacy in pursuing a common. BASIS OF FORMING A POLITICAL PARTY A political party normally forms due to a variety of reasons. Some such causes and their eventual capability in pursuing common causes are enumerated in succeeding paragraphs. Western political scientist Duverger (1954)2, has tended to focus on organizational features, distinguishing between: Cadre parties set up by ‘notables’ to get them into parliament, with limited organization. Evidently, the sole purpose of such parties is to grab power, and then hold on to it as far as possible. Mass parties either, as in communist parties, cell-based and highly disciplined or in the class-mass type referred to above, enjoying a degree of internal democracy. While they may serve limited purpose as they did for a long time in many parts of the world, many have now slowly realised the eventuality and turned towards a more progressive outlook leading to re-mapping the world boundaries. Some others are slowly going from bad to worse situation. Catch-all parties that originally evolved out of class-mass parties. Electoral-professional party most recently, reflecting developments in communications technology and electoral competition, the stream-lined. It is evident that most of these parties evolved with a visible common cause but eventually they have turned into self serving interests like power, money etc. They have ultimately proved that political parties are ‘associations formally organized with the explicit and declared purpose of acquiring and/or maintaining legal control, either singly or in coalition or electoral competition with other similar associations over the personnel and the policy of the government of an actual or prospective sovereign state’.3 Let us now have a look at another perception. Recently, Gunther and Diamond have produced a new provisional typology of the world’s parties.4 It conceives four broad types, based on organisational characteristics and, within these, further sub-types based on their ideological character and their strategic orientation that is whether they abide by pluralistic norms or aim at hegemony. Elite based Party. A conservative local notable party with limited objectives. Fundamentalist party. Within the general category of mass party a new sub-type, the proto-hegemonic party with extreme views. Ethnicity-based party. Not a mass party because, typically, it is organizationally very limited and more interested in accessing state resources than in ideology or policy. Within this latter category they distinguish two sub-types. Personalistic party Within the electoralist type of party, many seemingly ethnic, or multi-ethnic, parties in Africa are actually mainly vehicles for individual political leaders, though these are hardly the high-tech, professionalized organizations evoked by the term ‘electoralist’. STRENGTHS AN WEAKNESSES OF A POLITICAL PARTY Parties are political institutions linking society and state. Not only are they a revealing reflection of state-society relationships but in the right circumstances they themselves may help to shape these relationships, that is, they can constitute an independent not merely a dependent political variable. It has most fortunately been noticed that during times of actual national crises, all such parties do come together in spite of their different thinking, priorities, limitations etc. However, when the situation is peace and concern is economy, politics, future elections, regional/community based issues etc. these parties have very limited collective will in overall interests of the nation. Personality based politics take the cake, and the fact is true across international borders. This is especially so in two party and multi-party systems. Hence, it can be sufficiently argued that when there is no emergency, do not expect the political party to take up and fight for a common cause of individual or collective interests unless it is politically motivating for them to do so. Further, Political parties as institutions no longer seem to exist in real world. The general perception is that parties in most countries are organisationally weaker, more dependent on individual leaders and the informal processes of clientelism, less ideological or programmatic, and less securely ‘rooted’ in society, than some of their western counterparts. The media also places more emphasis on candidates as individuals than as agents of parties and party platforms. Public attention now focuses on the personalities and ideas of candidates, rather than the benefits that the party as an organization can offer party loyalists. To that extent, little incentive exists for voters to support the choice of the party establishment or for candidates to adhere to a “party line.”5 FUNCTIONAL LIMITATIONS There are three main functions which remain limitations of a political party towards becoming a good vehicle of representation. The first includes raising money, acquiring a staff, encouraging supporters to get out to vote, recruiting volunteers and maintaining a party headquarters, which may be permanent or temporary. The second function of a political party is the informational function. The informational function of the party involves putting up signs in the community, canvassing the community to spread information, circulating campaign material. The third function of a party is the ideological function, which is platform enactment. During the election process, a party is responsible for spreading the word of the platform a candidate believes in. However, once elected into office, it is up to that candidate to enact his/her ideas. This is the most difficult function, because once elected into office, candidates do not always live up to the promises that they make to get elected. 6 Unfortunately, in a modern well-informed world, a political party need not be like this. In fact, history for past few decades in most democracies records that very few political parties have returned back to office for the next term. And mostly for not living upto their promises made before the elections. Hence, it can be safely argued that if these political parties had given what they promised, they would have benefitted more and come back to office as it has happened in some few major democracies. That the voter today is a far better judge of his government is adequately visible from this aspect. However, it is not all that grim outlook across the board. Knowing their limitations, some responsible political parties have invented some ways to keep some important issues out of the purview of day to day politics. They have direct links with social movements or organizations. Political parties across the globe have established different kinds of affiliated organisations for youth, peasants/farmers, women and so forth, with varying degrees of independence and vitality. But significant links with more autonomous civil society organisations and non government organisations are less common. These have been termed as limitations of democracy by some present day statesmen. Perhaps, we have to learn to live with them. Even during the so-called “golden age” of political parties, from the middle of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I in 1914, most effective parties developed a rigid bureaucratic structure that increasingly hampered participation of ordinary party supporters. Power instead flowed to elites at the top of the party hierarchy and remained out of reach for the common man with his feet on ground. CONCLUSION: THE FUTURE OUTLOOK Political Parties are organisations that mobilise voters on behalf of a common set of interests, concerns, and goals. In many nations, parties play a crucial role in the democratic process. They formulate political and policy agendas, select candidates, conduct election campaigns, and monitor the work of their elected representatives. Political parties link citizens and the government, providing a means by which people can have a voice in their government. Most political parties espouse democratic principles and commitments. In practice, however, a combination of factors has placed limits on parties as instruments of democratic participation. The decline of traditional parties is an international phenomenon. Some analysts believe political parties will one day cease to exist, and that the function of democratic linkage between citizen, his representation for individual or collective interests and that of state will then be performed by polls, by interactive television, and by other media. Others argue, however, that none of these institutions offers citizens the public arena in which reasoned debate can lead to collective action on behalf of an organized membership. Collective action, they suggest, is the only effective recourse of the less privileged members of a society. A nation without multiple strong, competitive political parties will inevitably be a nation in which power rests in the hands of narrow elite. 7 While this extreme thought seems less likely in any country in foreseeable future, the fact remains that individual and collective representation will continue to suffer due to inadequacies of governmental systems across the world. Ironically, it can be expected that only extreme or fundamentalist parties shall be able to put forward a cause and pursue it till the end. Political compulsions will always come in way for the moderate ones. This seems another misfortune for the electorate. In real world, there will be not many political parties to fight for their cause in moderate world. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Burnell & Randall: Politics in the Developing World, 2005. 2. Duverger, Maurice. Political Parties: Their Organization and Activities in the Modern State. 1954. 3. Coleman, J and Rosberg, C (eds), Political Parties and National Integration in Africa1964 4. Gunther, Richard and Diamond, Larry , ‘Species of Political Parties: A New Typology’2003 5. Political Parties by Robert Michels,1999 Read More