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Comparative Politics Chapter 5

Comparative Politics Chapter 5. Interest Aggregation and Political Parties. Introduction. Interest Aggregation- activity in which the political demands of individuals and groups are combined into policy programs.

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Comparative Politics Chapter 5

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  1. Comparative Politics Chapter 5 Interest Aggregation and Political Parties

  2. Introduction • Interest Aggregation- activity in which the political demands of individuals and groups are combined into policy programs. • Political parties are important to interest aggregation in both democratic and non-democratic systems.

  3. Personal Interest Aggregation • Patron-client network- a structure in which a central officeholder, authority figure, or group provides benefits to supporters in exchange for their loyalty (ie feudal system, Boss Tweed)

  4. Institutional Interest Aggregation • Associational groups- operate merely to express demands and support political contenders such as political parties; occasionally wield sufficient resources to become contenders in their own right • Institutional groups- bureaucratic and military factions that serve as interest aggregators

  5. Competitive Party Systems and Interest Aggregation • Competitive party systems- work to build electoral support; find what voters want, get supporters involved, and represent these interests within the political process • Authoritarian party systems- noncompetitive systems that seek to direct society

  6. Competitive Party Systems and Elections • Plurality election rule- occurs when a country is divided into districts; winner only needs to exceed other candidates’ votes (plurality), not obtain a majority • Proportional representation- occurs when a country is divided into a few, large districts; legislative representation a party wins depends on overall proportion of the votes it receives • Election turnout- percentage of eligible voters that participate in an election

  7. Classifying Competitive Party Systems • Majoritarian party systems- either dominated by just two parties (US), or they have two substantial parties and election laws that create legislative majorities for one of them (Britain) • Multiparty systems- have combinations of parties, voter support, and election laws that virtually ensure no single party wins a legislative majority

  8. Classifying Competitive Party Systems • Consensual party system- dominating parties not too far apart on policy, have reasonable amount of trust in each other and political system • Conflictual party system- dominating parties are far apart on issues or highly antagonistic towards each other • Consociational party system- mixed characteristics of the two main party systems

  9. Authoritarian Party Systems • Exclusive governing party- insists on control over political resources by the party leadership; does not permit activity by social groups, citizens, or other governmental agencies • Inclusive governing party- recognizes and attempts to coordinate various social groups in the society; accepts and aggregates certain autonomous interests, while repressing others

  10. Military and Interest Aggregation • Military governments- government whose power resides in the control of instruments of force; military is by far the most important influence of interest aggregation

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