Political Parties Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Political Parties - Research Paper Example The normal people in the general population belong to this party electorate. These supporters or those who identify with a particular political party often show a strong tendency to vote for the candidate of that particular party. In addition, they register themselves as members of that party. These supporters tend to support all the policies of their political party blindly. There are various opinions among various scholars regarding party identification. While some opine that party identification is the result of people’s attachment to certain core political values, some others claim that party identification leads to political core values in an individual. In either way, political identification is an essential element in modern national politics. According to people like Green, palmquist, and Schickler, party identification is the sense of personal attachment one feels to a particular party as a result of the closeness he or she has to the social groups associated with tha t party (132). To illustrate, people often decide their political party taking into consideration how they feel about the social group which makes the base of that particular political party. The study by Goren proves that party identification is stable and rather long lasting (882). Admittedly, the first benefit of party identification is the proper representation of people’s requirements and their satisfaction. ... Secondly, though there is the claim that party identification leads to partisan politics, there is the counter argument that party identification leads to a greater degree of unity. For example, Larry shows that an individual’s value selection is greatly influenced by their party affiliation (122). That means a large chunk of population, which believes in a particular political party, tends to blindly support what the party propagates. It will help in reducing individual differences in opinion to a great extent. This is evident from Feldman’s report that party identification leads to greater voter turnout in elections (431). That means identification to a political party encourages participation in democratic process. As Fiorina opines, party identification is the best way to ensure effective running of democracies. For instance, such political parties are the only platform for candidates to reach the masses in a short time (89). Without the presence of parties, the ent ire system will be in chaos as so many candidates might turn up and the population will be divided into so many divisions based on the demands of each small section. Thus, political system becomes an important aspect of a successful democracy. Along with this, political parties play a great role in coordinated social interaction. Forgetting minor differences in individual perceptions, people gather under the banner of political parties and promote group survival and welfare activities instead of individual needs. Finally, in times of trouble and complex social situations, parties provide cues that guide people. Thus, party identification is an important element of party system and political participation, and these both are essential for democracy. 2. Developments in party Identification