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British Political Parties

British Political Parties. “A Multiple Party System with Two-Party Dominance” First-Past-The-Post & Single-Member Districts lead to emergence of two leading parties. Labour Party. Largest party on the “left” of political spectrum

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British Political Parties

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  1. British Political Parties “A Multiple Party System with Two-Party Dominance” First-Past-The-Post & Single-Member Districts lead to emergence of two leading parties

  2. 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 early 1990s

  3. 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) • Tony Blair’s adopts “Third Way” platform and creates “New Labour” Party

  4. 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 Thatcherism

  5. 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, known as “Euroskeptics”, feel EU threatens British sovereignty

  6. 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 • Also managed to gain support in reference to their stance on issues such as health, education, the environment, and the Iraq War

  7. Other Parties • Scottish National Party • Plaid Cymru – Welch nationalist party • Sinn Fein – political arm of the IRA • Democratic Unionist Party – led by Protestant clergymen

  8. XVII. Mexican Political Parties • Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) • National Action Party (PAN) • Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)

  9. 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 of the 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 from rural areas where patron-client system is still in control. Patron-client system allowed the PRI to remain in control of Mexicans as long as majority of population was rural-based, this began to change in the late 1980s

  10. PAN (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 • Support for private and religious education

  11. 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 candidate for president in the 2006 election. He lost by a slim margin to Calderon (PAN)

  12. 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 Parties)

  13. 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 • Putin won re-election in 2004 as the United Russia candidate • United Russia is hard to define other than that it is pro-Putin

  14. 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 • Would like to see Russia regain territories it lost after Soviet Union dissolution

  15. 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 won 3 seats (less than 5% of the vote) Reformist Parties

  16. 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 (won 37 seats)

  17. 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 declined

  18. 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, their candidate was Ali Larijani, who lost in first round

  19. 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 guerrillas modeled after Che Guevara); Tudeh (communist party)

  20. 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 • This cut the number of parties significantly, only 5 parties were eligible to run candidates in the 2003 election

  21. 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 in2003, but did receive 9% of the votes for the legislative elections

  22. 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, came to power in China after defeating rival Kuomintang (KMT) in Chinese Civil War.

  23. 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 aLeninist 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. Official flag and emblem of the CCP

  24. 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

  25. 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

  26. 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

  27. 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

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