Political and governmental arrangements

The political system of a country shapes its political parties. The balance of power between the legislature and the executive affects party functioning in government and opposition, with strong governmental powers diminishing the role of opposition parties between elections.

Presidential systems add another dimension to party politics, both by putting focus more on personalities than party structures and by promoting alliances between parties about which presidential candidate to support. Another important factor is the relative centralization or decentralization of the country. Federal systems tend to produce political parties with more regional ties while parties in unitary countries have more of a national focus.

Population

Socioeconomic and other cleavages in the society tend to be reflected in the political parties. The existence of ethnic, religious, or other minorities often affects parties and party systems, especially if they are geographically dispersed.

Violent conflict

New and restored democracies often have a history of violent conflict that affects political parties. Some may be transformed from military groups while others are new or sprung from civil society organisations. The existence or threat of violence in society influences both political parties and individual politicians, who often engage in politics despite high personal risks.

Electoral Systems and Party Systems

Political parties and party systems are to a large extent affected by electoral systems. Some systems encourage, or even enforce, the formation of political parties; others recognize only individual candidates. The type of party system which develops, in particular the number and the relative sizes of political parties in the legislature, is heavily influenced by the electoral system. So is the internal cohesion and discipline of parties: some systems encourage factionalism, where different wings of one party are constantly at odds with each other, while another system might encourage parties to speak with one voice and suppress dissent. Electoral systems can also influence the way parties campaign and the way political elites behave, thus helping to determine the broader political climate; they may encourage, or retard, the forging of alliances between parties; and they can provide incentives for parties and groups to be broadly based and accommodating, or to base themselves on narrow appeals to ethnicity or kinship ties.

Political culture and societal norms

The political and societal norms of a country determine how political parties function. Hierarchical and patriarchal norms transcend to political parties, as do cultures of consensus-building and consultation. What is accepted during meetings and election campaigns is shaped by the society in which political parties operate rather than only by their internal culture.

Changing context and a crisis for political parties

Since the mid-1900s, the political landscape has been a field of rapid development. Democracy has spread to new countries and regions, societies have changed with economic development, television and electronic media have come to form an integral part of our societies, and the globalization of politics affects the everyday life of persons all over the world. Political parties struggle – sometimes successfully, sometimes not – to adapt to changing circumstances and keep up with new developments. Political parties need to seek new ways of organizing and functioning if they are to survive in the new millennium.

Trust

Commentators agree that political parties are still key actors in functioning democracies. Despite this, on all continents and in all countries of the world, political parties and politicians turn up among the least trusted institutions and personalities in public opinion polls. Political parties are perceived as corrupt institutions supporting the rule of a limited and excluding elite that is not responsive to members or general supporters. Politicians have gone from being respected personalities to being perceived as distrusted manipulators who are in politics for their own personal gain.

In some countries, the label ‘political party’ carries such bad connotations that new political forces choose to call themselves movements or organisations rather than taking the name of political party – even if they claim to fulfil the same roles and meet on the same arena as the traditional political parties.

Professionalization and membership

Politics have gone from being a field for interested and engaged citizens to increasingly being a field of professionals. There are many reasons for this. Increasingly complex political systems with decision-making processes that nowadays have implications reaching far beyond the country borders put different demands on politicians – demands that cannot easily be met by enlightened citizens. Many commentators also claim that the increasing power of media in election campaigns have sped up the move towards professional politics. Campaigns are more often run by marketing consultants than by local party members, and one minute’s broadcasting on television might have more impact than 100 local meetings and rallies.

These factors have also changed the will of citizens to become party members. The membership in political parties is declining both in new democracies and in the Western European countries that are used to having political parties that are based on a strong membership. In some countries, public funding of political parties is blamed for making parties more an institution of the State than private organisations dependent on their members.

Globalization and international contacts

Not only political decisions have international implications. The contacts of political parties are also increasingly global, and the ties to the Party Internationals and sister parties in other countries now help shape policies and formulate election campaigns also at the national level. At the same time, new and trans-national political parties are emerging in intergovernmental and supranational organisations like the European Union.

Political parties and candidates fund their campaigns not only through support from local citizens but also through donations from exile communities, multi-national organisations, and international support groups. Many countries have enacted laws prohibiting foreign sources of funds in politics, but loopholes and new practices render many of those laws ineffective.

Increasing costs

The access to funds and the regulations on what they can be used for influence political party behaviour. The costs of running a political party with offices, local branches, membership registers, and frequent meetings is escalating, but it is mainly campaign expenses that drive political parties to seek ever more funds. Even though there is no empirical evidence to suggest that the party that spends most on an election will also win, the money put into a campaign does affect the number of voters that will hear the party message.

Especially in countries where paid political advertising is the main means of communicating with the public, election expenditure is rising. In a bid to cut campaign costs, many countries have chosen to ban paid political advertisement and offer free advertisement in publicly-owned media instead. In some instances, this has worked, but the competitive environment of elections and the powers vested in legislators and governments still attract large sums of money from donors.

Representativity

Of the areas in which political parties are most frequently criticized, the issue of representativity often comes out on top. Political parties are perceived as distant from their members and supporters and having failed to include all segments of society in politics. Women are still largely excluded from politics; at the turn of the 21st century, they constituted only 15% of representatives in elected legislatures around the world. Ethnic, religious, and social minorities are also often excluded from political power, and political parties have been blamed for systematically favouring the dominant elite.

The ability and interest of political parties to broaden their base and recruit leaders and candidates from non-traditional groups are also said to be crucial for the peaceful articulation of their interests. The risk that some groups might resort to violence is greater if they do not feel that their demands are taken seriously by the established political parties.

Adapting to a new political landscape

There is a rising concern in political parties about the low levels of trust and membership, and in many countries and regions, political parties have embarked on self-assessment projects to comprehend where they might have gone wrong and learn how to better represent the public. Quotas and other positive measures are adopted to deal with problems of representation, opinion polls are developed as new consultation tools, and codes of conduct are utilized to agree on fair campaigning procedures. Parties try to engage their members and interact with civil society groups at the same time as they try to adjust to new, international circumstances.

Also, legal frameworks attempt to help foster stable and trusted political parties. Ceilings are put on election expenditure to avoid constant increases in campaign spending, transparency is enforced in party financing, legal quotas enhance the role of women and minorities, and political advertisement is provided free of charge in many countries.