British Political
Parties
“A Multiple Party System with Two-Party
Dominance”
Labour Party
Largest party on the “left” of political spectrum
Began in 1906 as alliance between trade unions and social groups
that were strengthened by expansion of workers’ rights
Traditionally labor union have provided majority of funds for the
party
Early history of the party defined by controversial “Clause 4” that
called for nationalization of the “commanding heights” of British industry
Trade Union Council (TUC) – a coalition of trade unions generally
associated with the Labour Party, has traditionally been a force in British politics
Growing moderation of the party reflected by removal of clause in
Labour Party in 1990s
Shift in policies toward more centrist views
Shift in political platform originated with Neil
Kinnock, party leader in the 1980s
Moderate-centrist views have continued under
leadership of John Smith (1993-94) and Tony
Blair (1997-present)
Conservative Party
Dominant party in Great Britain between WWII
and late 1990s
Main party on the right
Traditionally pragmatic as opposed to ideological
Historically has supported a market controlled
economy, privatization, and fewer social welfare
programs – symbolized by Margaret Thatcher in
1980s
Under Prime Minister John Major (1990-1997)
gravitated towards center and away from
Conservative Party II
Characterized by Noblesse Oblige Power centered in London Party organization viewed as elitist
Leadership must submit to annual leadership elections Weakened by division of party in late 1990s:
Traditional Wing(one-nation Tories) – values noblesse oblige
and elitism, supports Britain’s membership in EU
Thatcherite Wing – strict conservatives, support full free market,
Liberal-Democratic Party
Alliance between the Liberal and Social Democratic Parties during the 1980s
Formally merged in 1989 into Liberal Democratic party
Attempted to create strong “in the middle” compromise to the two dominant parties
Won a party high 26% of vote in 1983, but because of
single-member district plurality system only secured 23 seats in Parliament
Secured only 62 MP seats in 2005 even though they won 22% of the popular vote
Other Parties
Scottish National Party
Plaid Cymru
– Welch nationalist party
Sinn Fein
– political arm of the IRA
Democratic Unionist Party
– led by
XVII. Mexican Political Parties
Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI)
National Action Party (PAN)
PRI
In power from 1920-2000
Founded by coalition of elites led by President Calles
Originally elites agreed to trade favors and pass around power from one
cacique to another (Sexenio)
Corporatist structure
– interest groups woven into the structure ofthe party. Party has ultimate authority, but other voices heard by bringing interest groups under the umbrella of the party. Structure is not democratic, but allows for more input into government than other types of
authoritarianism. Cardenas allowed peasant and labor organizations to be represented in the party and hold positions of responsibility
Patron-client system
– party traditionally gets its support fromPAN
(Right of Center)
Founded in 1939
Represents business interests opposed to centralization and
anti-clericalism
PAN support strongest in the north
PAN generally considered PRI’s opposition to the Right
PAN candidate Vicente Fox won 2000 presidential election,
Felipe Calderon won 2006 election
Platform
Regional autonomy
Less government intervention in the economy Clean & fair elections
Good rapport with Catholic Church
PRD
(Left of Center)
PRD considered PRI’s opposition to the Left
Presidential candidate in 1988 & 1994 was Cuahtemoc Cardenas (son of Lazaro Cardenas)
He was ejected from the PRI for demanding reform that emphasized social justice and populism
In 1988 Cardenas won 31.1% of the official vote, and PRD captured 139 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (500 total)
Many believe had it been an honest election Cardenas would have won
PRD has been plagued by poor organization, lack of charismatic
leadership, and most importantly the lack of an economic alternative to the market-oriented policies of the PRI & PAN
Andres Lopez Obrador, former mayor of Mexico City, was the PRD
Russian Political Parties
Began forming after Revolution of 1991 Small, factional
Formed around particular leaders
“Bloc of General Andrey Nikolaev and Academician Svyaloslav
Fyodorov”
“Yuri Boldyrev Movement” (“Yabloko”)
Formed around particular issues
“Party of Pensioners”
“Agrarian Party of Russia”
“Women of Russia”
Political Parties Today (United Russia, Communist Party, Reform
United Russia
Founded in April 2001
Merger between “Fatherland All-Russia” Party and the
“United Party of Russia”
United Party put together by oligarch Boris Berezovsky
and other entrepreneurs to support Putin in the election of 2000
Merger put even more political support behind Putin
United Russia won 221 of the 450 Duma seats in 2004
elections
Communist Party of the Russian
Federation (CPRF)
Communist Party of the old Soviet Union (CPSU) After 1995 elections held 157 of the 450 Duma seats
After parliamentary election of 2003 only retained 51 of the 450 Duma seats
Party leader Gennady Zyuganov finished second in the 1996 and 2000 elections, but support for the party dropped each time, he withdrew from the race in the 2004 election
Party was weakened in 2004 when a breakaway faction led by Vladimir Tikhonov split from the party
Party is less reformist than other parties, Zyuganov opposed the reforms initiated by Gorbachev
Party emphasizes central planning and nationalism
Reformist Parties
Yabloko
Taken strongest stand for
pro-democracy
Survived since 1993
Grigori Yavlinski, leader,
finished 3rd in 2000
presidential election
Name is acronym for its
three founders, also means “apple”
Gained 4.4% of vote in
2003 parliamentary
elections (4 seats) making it ineligible for proportional representation
Union of Right Forces
“Rightists” only in the
sense of seeking truth
Emphasizes
development of free market
Supports privatization of
industry
Had 29 seats in Duma
prior to 2003
After 2003 elections only
Liberal Democratic Party
Controversial party
Headed by Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Extreme nationalist Anti-semitic
Sexist
Attacks reformist leaders and disliked Yeltsin
Said he would use nuclear weapons on Japan if he were elected
Party reformulated as “Zhirinovsky’s Bloc” for 2000
presidential election, he received 2.7% of vote
Party did receive about 11% of vote in 2003 Duma elections
Iranian Political Parties
Constitution legalized political parties, but they were not allowed until
Muhammad Khatami’s election (1997)
The Iranian Militant Clerics Society – left wing reform party led by
Muhammad Khatami.
Khatami president from 1997-2005
Several prominent politicians belong to this party including former Majlis
speaker, and a vice-president
Candidate in 2005, Mehdi Karroubi, came in third
The Islamic Iran Participation Front – reformist party led by
Khatami’s brother, Muhammad Reza Khatami
Founded in 1998, motto “Iran for all Iranians” Did well in 2000 Majlis elections
Guardian Council barred many members from running in 2004 so membership
Political Parties II
Executives of Construction Party – founded by several former
cabinet members of President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Important supporter of Rafsanjani and his political platform
Rafsanjani lost election runoff to Ahmadinejad by a large margin
The Islamic Society of Engineers – member of the
conservative alliance, party of current president Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, who secured office in presidential election of 2005
The “society” however did not support Ahmadinejad in the election,
Reformist Parties
Khordad Front (Alliance between Iranian Militant Clerics Society & Islamic Iran Participation Front) – the alliance helped win reelection
for Khatami in 2000.
The Second Khordad Front did not survive in 2004 elections as
Guardian Council banned many reformist candidates from Majlis elections
Liberation Movement – Moderate party, party founded by
Mehdi Bazargan (Khomeini’s PM), in 1961 it was banned in 2002 as subversive organization
National Front – headed by Mossadeq in 1950, it was banned
in late 1980s
Exile parties – Mojahedin (guerrilla group fought the shah); Fedayin (Marxist
XII.
Nigerian Political Parties
Factionalism led to creation of many political parties Failure to create coherent party system
Parties formed and faded around personalities Multi-party system reinforced and strengthened
ethnic and religious cleavages
Independent National Election Committee (INEC) –
registered a number of parties following the death of Abacha in 1998
In order to run candidates for the legislative and
presidential elections of 1999, a party had to qualify by receiving at least 5% of the votes in two-thirds of the states in the 1998 election
Political Parties II
People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
Well-established Party
Began running candidates in 1998
Party of President Olesugun Obesanjo (Igbo, Christian from the
North)
Obesanjo received 62% of vote in 2003 election
PDP gained majority in National Assembly and most of the
governors throughout the country
All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP)
General Muhammadu Buhari, Muslim from the North, ran
against Obesanjo
Received about 32% of the vote
Other parties that ran presidential candidates include All
Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), The Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ), and the Justice Party
Alliance for Democracy (AD) did not have a presidential candidate in
Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
The Communist Party of
China (CPC), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and
ruling political party of the China and is the world's largest
political party
The party has about 70 million
members, 5.5% of the total population of China
The CCP was founded in 1921,
Communist Party
Ideologies: Communism,
Marxism-Leninism and Maoism
Internal organization of the CCP is a
hierarchy of party congresses and
committees extending from the top of
the system down to the grassroots.
Inner party rules for decision making
are based on democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is a Leninist
doctrine that requires consultation until a decision for an issue is reached by the party. After a decision is made, discussion concerns only planning and execution.
Party Structures
Chinese Communist Party
vests supreme authority in
National Party Congress
The Central Committee
determines the number of
Congress delegates and
procedures for their elections
National Party Congress ratifies
important changes in broad
policy already decided by
smaller party structures and
elects the Central Committee
K e y P a r t y S t r u c t u r e s
T h e P o l i t b u r o S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e T h e P o li t b u r o
Party Structures
The Central Committee exercises
powers the congress between
sessions.
Candidates for the Central
Committee determined by
Politburo before congress meets
Changes in policy or leaders at
the political center need to be
approved by this committee
It is the Chinese political elite
It is a collection of the most powerful
several hundred political leaders in China
K e y P a r t y S t r u c t u r e s
T h e P o l i t b u r o S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e T h e P o li t b u r o
Party Structures
The Politburo is elected by the
Central Committee
The Politburo are all members
of the Central Committee
It is a top political elite, usually
no more than two dozen
leaders
The Politburo is in charge of
overseeing policymaking in
some issue area
K e y P a r t y S t r u c t u r e s
T h e P o l i t b u r o S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e T h e P o li t b u r o
Party Structures
The Politburo Standing
Committee is also elected by the
Central Committee
It is typically no more than a
half-dozen leaders who meet about
once weekly
The Politburo Standing
Committee, as well as the
Politburo, are the core political
decision makers
K e y P a r t y S t r u c t u r e s
T h e P o l i t b u r o S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e T h e P o li t b u r o