Party System Institutionalization
“PARTY SYSTEM INSTITUTIONALIZATION: A CRITIQUE”
I. Introduction: In new democracies, political parties are still struggling to keep pace with the challenges of democracy. Unlike in highly developed democracies, new democracies are usually vulnerable in reverting back to authoritarianism. This is because the institutions that are primarily concerned with promoting democratic governance are weak and cannot cope with the influences of the elite. Political party is considered to be an essential institution to provide a building block in democratic governance. Where the role of political party is weak, this also results to the weakening of democratic governance. Political party makes government accountable to its action; its primary role is to aggregate the interests of the people in the government, to form the government and to promote democratic norms and practices. But, what if these political parties have weak role in the government and that they are only used by the self-interested elites to gain power and control over the government? These questions are related to the level of the party’s institutionalization.
Party systems in democracies and semi democracies of the less developed countries are less institutionalized than party systems in advance industrial democracies. What might account to this striking difference would be how parties evolved from each condition. This paper discusses the level of stability of party systems in third world countries or new democracies as compared to the advance industrial democracies. Stability and value of political parties depends upon their level of institutionalization of party system.
II. Party System Institutionalization According to Huntington, institutionalization is the process by which organizations and procedures acquire value and stability. Mainwaring argues that party institutionalization consists of its level of stability, strong rootedness of the party to the society, legitimacy of the parties and finally,
I. Introduction: In new democracies, political parties are still struggling to keep pace with the challenges of democracy. Unlike in highly developed democracies, new democracies are usually vulnerable in reverting back to authoritarianism. This is because the institutions that are primarily concerned with promoting democratic governance are weak and cannot cope with the influences of the elite. Political party is considered to be an essential institution to provide a building block in democratic governance. Where the role of political party is weak, this also results to the weakening of democratic governance. Political party makes government accountable to its action; its primary role is to aggregate the interests of the people in the government, to form the government and to promote democratic norms and practices. But, what if these political parties have weak role in the government and that they are only used by the self-interested elites to gain power and control over the government? These questions are related to the level of the party’s institutionalization.
Party systems in democracies and semi democracies of the less developed countries are less institutionalized than party systems in advance industrial democracies. What might account to this striking difference would be how parties evolved from each condition. This paper discusses the level of stability of party systems in third world countries or new democracies as compared to the advance industrial democracies. Stability and value of political parties depends upon their level of institutionalization of party system.
II. Party System Institutionalization According to Huntington, institutionalization is the process by which organizations and procedures acquire value and stability. Mainwaring argues that party institutionalization consists of its level of stability, strong rootedness of the party to the society, legitimacy of the parties and finally,