Political Parties: Functions and Party Systems

Modern representative democracy is hard to imagine without political parties. They choose candidates, offer programmes, organise voters and form governments. When they fail, democracy suffers. This lesson defines a political party, lists its functions, distinguishes types of party and compares party systems. A separate lesson in this course traces Nigeria's parties from the First to the Fourth Republic.

Functions of political parties: • Interest aggregation: combining many demands into a coherent programme. • Recruitment and nomination of candidates for public office. • Political education and socialisation of citizens. • Formation of government by the winning party or coalition. • Opposition and criticism of the government, offering an alternative. • Linking the people and the government, carrying public opinion to policy-makers. • Promoting national integration when they draw members from all parts of the country. Types of party: • Mass parties seek a large membership and mobilise ordinary people. • Elite (cadre) parties are led by a small group of notables and influential people. • Ideological parties are built around a doctrine such as socialism. • Broker or catch-all parties try to attract voters from many groups by avoiding rigid ideology. • Charismatic parties revolve around a dominant leader. • Ethnic or regional parties draw support mainly from one group or area. Nigeria's First Republic parties were largely regionally based, which is why the 1979 and later constitutions required parties to be national in membership and outlook.

• One-party system: only one party is legally allowed, as in China and the former Soviet Union, and in several African states after independence, such as Tanzania until 1992. Supporters claimed it promoted unity and rapid development. Critics point to lack of choice, suppression of opposition and the risk of dictatorship. • Two-party system: two major parties alternate in power, even if minor parties exist; the United States (Democrats and Republicans) and, traditionally, the United Kingdom (Conservative and Labour) are examples. Merits: stable government and clear choice. Demerits: limited choice and neglect of minority views. Nigeria had a decreed two-party system in the aborted Third Republic (SDP and NRC). • Multi-party system: three or more parties compete with a real chance of winning seats, as in Nigeria, India and Italy. Merits: wide choice and representation of diverse interests. Demerits: fragmentation and unstable coalition governments. • Dominant-party system: several parties compete freely but one wins repeatedly over a long period, such as the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan for most of the period since 1955.