Session 12 - Political parties and party systems

In today’s modern world, political parties can be considered as an indispensable unit in almost every country. These political parties operate within the party systems, so therefore the type of system will have a significant impact on the party behavior. Party systems are the interactions of various different political parties. Whatever system is followed by the country, various political consequences are likely to be resulted. What are the various political consequences of the party systems, namely one party system, two- party system and multi party system?

In one party system the decision making will be quite efficient as there will be no clash of views. Due to not much public consultation, swift decisions and changes will take place. The communist Party in China serves its great example which has access of power over all other political institutions’. It enjoys this autonomy while determining the social, political and economic policies and goals of the society effectively without any hassle and hesitation. However, corruption does cheeps into this system as there are no checks and balances to be supervised by one party. The politicians are not accountable to anyone for their crimes which undermines the public trust towards the government system, in turn leading to a threat to the viability of democracy. Political apathy may be even caused by one party system when people feel that their views are not given weight-age in politics.

In western capitalist societies, pluralist competition between various parties for political power and support is very much evident. Whether a two party system or a system consisting of more parties flourishes largely depends on the electoral process nature in each country. In a two party system, the governance maybe more stable as there will be checks and the political ideas will be relatively diverse which in a way might ensure that the government responds to the public needs and views. Though, this diversity of views may cause confusion to the citizen as well as it will be hard and a very time consuming process to have a consensus of both the parties on a certain policy. This system may in a way cause disappoint for the third party candidates believing they have few chances of winning. For example, in US many people have tried to form up a new party such as Green Party which failed to survive in politics for a long time.

Lastly, a multi party system may reflect effective aggregation and expression of minority interests in the society. Minority’s’ parties might get a chance to be a part of elections which in a way gives an opportunity for them to put forward their viewpoints in the policy discussions. However this system might be unstable due to so many different political parties on the platform, each holding up their own views and values. This is a great drawback as it will take very long for the government to address to people needs on time. The citizens may lose confidence and trust in the government. Moreover, in a coalition if one of the parties withdraws, the government will lose the majority support from the legislature.

In today’s world, checks and balances are highly important for any political system. Therefore, one party system may not be a suitable way for governance. While choosing between two party and multi party system it is quite difficult to conclude which one is better and many of the countries have adopted a middle version of both the systems called the two plus party systems. As long as the parties are effectively carrying out their jobs and representing the public opinion, a moderate and stable government can be established, which in turn can  make democracy a reality in the long run.