Importance of Party Discipline

The Importance of Party Discipline

Canada is one of the largest and most culturally diverse countries in the world. These characteristics make the democratic governing of the country a difficult task. A democratic model is needed that respects the fundamental rights and freedoms of various diverse cultures, and unites these cultures over a huge land mass as Canadians. To do this the Canadian government is one which is pluralist. Pluralism is the ideology that groups, (in Canada's case political parties), should rule in government. These parties help protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of everyone living in Canada, regardless of their ethnicity, or religious beliefs. The role political parties play in Canada is vital for maintaining democracy, and party discipline is what keeps these parties together.
Party discipline is defined as, "the ability of the leader in a democratic state to enforce obedience on his or her followers in the legislature and in the party organization," (Jackson, Conlin). Simply put, party discipline is the principle that all members of a specific party follow similar guides and vote in the same way. This practice has received a lot of criticism from different people who believe that almost forcing members of parliament to vote in a particular way is a violation of their constitutional rights and degrades democracy. In reality however, party discipline is necessary if a pluralist parliamentary system like that of Canada is to work. Party discipline is an important practice in the Canadian political system because it forces elected members of parliament to make predictable and stable decisions and increases the overall efficiency of the democratic process.
When politicians make decisions they follow guidelines set by their political party. Without these guidelines, and party whips to insure the practice of the guidelines, politicians would be free to vote whichever way they choose. This would mean that the justification as well as