Compare and contrast the parties and the party systems of Britain and Russia with reference to comparative literature.
Compare and contrast the parties and the party systems of Britain and Russia with reference to comparative literature.
There are many similarities and differences between Britain and Russia. They both have an upper and a lower house in their parliaments and both have a Prime Minister, but in turn, only Russia has a written constitution while Britain’s constitution is unwritten. Though this essay focuses on one key aspect which Britain and Russia will be compared and contrasted on; political parties and the party system. There are huge differences in this area of comparison, largely due to the histories of the countries. Britain has had a party system for centuries and has developed into a democratic society gradually, whereas Russia has only recently developed a party system in the past twenty years since the fall of Communism.
The party system in Russia has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. When Gorbachev began the road to democracy in the Soviet Union in the 1980’s, parties other than the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) were allowed to compete in elections (Powell: 2014). When the first elections were held for the State Duma many of these small parties where unable to pass the 5% threshold to have a place in the Duma. Only three parties could be said to have been successful: Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Russia’s Choice and the Communist Party of the Federated Russia. LDPR were the high achievers but they only won 22.9% of the vote (Ibid). The party system in the 1990’s could be said to have been a conflictual party system, where the legislature is dominated by parties that are far apart on issues or are antagonist toward each other. (Ibid). The party system in Russia began to develop into something representing a multiparty system, although it is not quite a multiparty system as there is only one true party of power today, United Russia, which has a majority of around 70%. Whereas in Britain the party system has
There are many similarities and differences between Britain and Russia. They both have an upper and a lower house in their parliaments and both have a Prime Minister, but in turn, only Russia has a written constitution while Britain’s constitution is unwritten. Though this essay focuses on one key aspect which Britain and Russia will be compared and contrasted on; political parties and the party system. There are huge differences in this area of comparison, largely due to the histories of the countries. Britain has had a party system for centuries and has developed into a democratic society gradually, whereas Russia has only recently developed a party system in the past twenty years since the fall of Communism.
The party system in Russia has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. When Gorbachev began the road to democracy in the Soviet Union in the 1980’s, parties other than the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) were allowed to compete in elections (Powell: 2014). When the first elections were held for the State Duma many of these small parties where unable to pass the 5% threshold to have a place in the Duma. Only three parties could be said to have been successful: Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Russia’s Choice and the Communist Party of the Federated Russia. LDPR were the high achievers but they only won 22.9% of the vote (Ibid). The party system in the 1990’s could be said to have been a conflictual party system, where the legislature is dominated by parties that are far apart on issues or are antagonist toward each other. (Ibid). The party system in Russia began to develop into something representing a multiparty system, although it is not quite a multiparty system as there is only one true party of power today, United Russia, which has a majority of around 70%. Whereas in Britain the party system has