What is a party system?
A party system is a concept in comparative political science concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country. The idea is that political parties have basic similarities: they control the government, have a stable base of mass popular support, and create internal mechanisms for controlling funding, information and nominations. . . . Party systems can be distinguished by the degree of political fragmentation, proportionality of seats-to-votes ratio and barriers to entry to the political competition.What is a two party system?
A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties[a] consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referred to as the majority or governing party while the other is the minority or opposition party. Around the world, the term has different meanings. For example, in the United States, the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Zimbabwe, the sense of two-party system describes an arrangement in which all or nearly all elected officials belong to either of the two major parties, and third parties rarely win any seats in the legislature. In such arrangements, two-party systems are thought to result from several factors, like "winner takes all" or "first past the post" election systems.
Throughout American history, two major parties have dominated elections both nationally and state wide. Why?
In political science, Duverger's law holds that in political systems with only one winner (as in the U.S.), two main parties tend to emerge with minor parties typically splitting votes away from the most similar major party. In contrast, systems with proportional representation, usually have more representation of minor parties in government.
What is a winner take all voter system?
- Ballotpedia; Winner Take All Voter Systems:
. . . an electoral system in which a single political party or group can elect every office within a given district or jurisdiction.
As a contrast: - Multi Party Systems:
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coalition. Apart from one-party-dominant and two-party systems, multi-party systems tend to be more common in parliamentary systems than presidential systems and far more common in countries that use proportional representation compared to countries that use first-past-the-post elections. Several parties compete for power and all of them have a reasonable chance of forming government.
- Ballotpedia: Proportional Representation:
. . . an electoral system in which the number of seats held by a particular political party in a legislature is directly determined by the number of votes the political party's candidates receive in a given election. For example, in a five-winner district with proportional representation, if party A received 40 percent of the vote and party B received 60 percent of the vote, party A would win two seats and party B would win three seats.
These are argued to lead to multi party systems, each party can represent a small faction within the nation. Coalitions of these parties are necessary in order to have a functioning government.
- Example: Israeli Knesset.
Coalitions and Factions
- Factions:
A political faction is a group of people with a common political purpose, especially a subgroup of a political party that has interests or opinions different from the rest of the political party.
- Coalitions: A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economic spaces.
- Pew Research Center:
- - Republican Coalition.
- - Democratic Coalition.
