The domestic system of politics is dictated by politicians who advocate for the ideology of the political party that they belong to. It is cardinal to understand the importance of political parties in running the political mechanism of any state. Parties in essence are the link between the political system and the people. For this reason, supporters of a particular party vote for it because the parties agendas are in line with those of the people. Supporters look upon their parties to represent their rights and advocate for their liberties and needs and wants.
If we take the example of a democratic system, political parties come to power through the voting process. If we delve into the voting system and process, an interesting aspect to bring in would be the selectorate theory introduced by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita who claims that in politics one has to be smart and understand how the system works. According to him there is the nominal selectorate which constitutes of all those people who are registered voters, then there is the real selectorate which constitutes of all those who actually vote and then there is the winning coalition. It is through gaining the favour of the winning coalition that one can come to power in politics and then maintain this position. This leads us to an important question: how can one gain the popularity of the winning coalition?
The answer to this lies in the reading as well as in the understanding of the selectorate theory. You need to have a leader that propagates the values of the party and tries to ensure that these values are in line with the demands of the people. In the recent Pakistani elections, the popular slogan 'Roti, Kapra, Makaan' caught the attention of the people. It is slogans like these that you ensure that the people know that the party is advocating for their rights. According to Mesquita you are providing a public good to the people. This public good will benefit the society, and will lead to you being looked upon favorably. Different eras in history bear testimony to the fact that if the parties aspirations are in line with the peoples, they automatically gravitate towards such an entity. Peace, bread and land is what got people to rally to the side of the Bolshevik Party in Russia and Equality, Fraternity and Equality radicalized the society in France during 1789. So, it is important to note that similar values and interests are essentially what guarantees rise to popularity.
However, such a statement can be contended because since the start of time, corruption has been rampant in all parts of the world. So, winning is no longer contingent on the sensationalized slogans and campaigns; corruption, nepotism and cronyism all dictate the way the political system is shaped and how political parties act.
If we take the example of a democratic system, political parties come to power through the voting process. If we delve into the voting system and process, an interesting aspect to bring in would be the selectorate theory introduced by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita who claims that in politics one has to be smart and understand how the system works. According to him there is the nominal selectorate which constitutes of all those people who are registered voters, then there is the real selectorate which constitutes of all those who actually vote and then there is the winning coalition. It is through gaining the favour of the winning coalition that one can come to power in politics and then maintain this position. This leads us to an important question: how can one gain the popularity of the winning coalition?
The answer to this lies in the reading as well as in the understanding of the selectorate theory. You need to have a leader that propagates the values of the party and tries to ensure that these values are in line with the demands of the people. In the recent Pakistani elections, the popular slogan 'Roti, Kapra, Makaan' caught the attention of the people. It is slogans like these that you ensure that the people know that the party is advocating for their rights. According to Mesquita you are providing a public good to the people. This public good will benefit the society, and will lead to you being looked upon favorably. Different eras in history bear testimony to the fact that if the parties aspirations are in line with the peoples, they automatically gravitate towards such an entity. Peace, bread and land is what got people to rally to the side of the Bolshevik Party in Russia and Equality, Fraternity and Equality radicalized the society in France during 1789. So, it is important to note that similar values and interests are essentially what guarantees rise to popularity.
However, such a statement can be contended because since the start of time, corruption has been rampant in all parts of the world. So, winning is no longer contingent on the sensationalized slogans and campaigns; corruption, nepotism and cronyism all dictate the way the political system is shaped and how political parties act.
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