Name
Professor
Course
Date of Submission

What Does Political Science Tell Us about Political Parties? Politics is a study that embroils both humanistic and scientific facets of socio-economic and political establishments. As a social science discipline, political science is concerned primary with the studies of states, nations, communities, parties, and policies that form them (Farrell, Webb, and Janda par. 2). Political Science advocates for a systematic, scientific, and fastidious efforts to explore human behavior and actions that have shaped political history and democratic processes. Moreover, political science as a study does not only prepare individuals for employment, but also for survival, given its efficacy in making informed citizenry who has the capacity to participate in the political processes within political parties or interest groups (Freeman par. 12). In addition, political science seeks to expand the scope of political advocacy. As a result, the study pursues community organization and service by the elected or appointed officials to the people. Therefore, political science is the power behind the formation of political parties, and its efficacy is usually instrumental in revealing the underlying relationships between political events and the conditions that generate them (Janos par. 7). In essence, political science seeks to construct the general principles for which societal politics works in line with political parties and the policies under which they operate. In practice, political science intersects with political parties, political organizations, theories, public policies, sociology, public law, and comparative politics among other endeavors. The aim of every political party is to position itself to form a government. Political science is more concerned with the allocation, transfer and separation of power in decision-making. The roles of political parties and the systems of governance that political parties advocate for are to measure the success or failure of a system given. Political science holds that under good administration, political parties are necessary for long-term political growth in emerging democracies. As Noel (12) notes, political parties have been instrumental in advocating for human rights and inclusivity in the concept of governance as a concrete system that seeks to extend the hegemony of democracy. Political scientists provide that democracy is the preserve of meaningful political parties. Without democracy, such parties may become a fetter to freedom, thus denying the parties the aim for which they are formed. Accordingly, political science holds that democracy can never be complete without liberalism. This is what makes one political party different from another (Lagon par. 2). Consequently, different societies subscribe to different political positioning, making political parties function differently in different societies. For example, in a conservative society people are limited in their ability to voice honest opinions. In other words, freedom of speech is curtailed, thus limiting the advocacy of political parties. In such situations, certain individuals, such as the poor and women, may become disenfranchised with limited ability to active participation in a democratic process. Most parties in the developing world are typical illiberal democracies, which might only have known or existed under the guise of democratic dictatorship (Democracy around the world par. 2). Within the precipice of democracy, political scientists consider parties with no strong democratic foundations as a mockery to democracy. The word democracy, according to Lagon (par. 2), denotes an all-inclusive political system, which political parties must advocate for. Intrinsically, democratic political parties recognize the eligibility of all their members; the citizens have the endowment to participate in decisions that affect them as an entity. Autonomous political parties such as those found in the developed world are governed by representative democracies that recognize the power of the people. The fact that different political parties have different attitudes towards the idea of democracy makes parties assume different approaches to governance, especially upon the commencement of state power. Political science holds that promoting democracy in politics should be the preserve of all political parties. However, in most societies, especially in the Third World, there is evidenced reluctance on the part of political parties to make democracy a central theme in their promotional stratages (Lagon par 3). Many parties would like to have a strong association with democracy, yet they usually fall short of the democratic standardization measures. Membership in parties that advocate for social equality usually means a moral obligation to explore the full meaning of democracy.. Governments may be more dictatorial, hence unfriendly with the masses. Thus, in societies that are more inclined to undemocratic policies, the larger majority are usually left out. In such situations, the masses naturally regroup to put both diplomatic and public pressure on the states to reconsider democratic rights of their citizens. Governance is a duty of every single individual in a society. Therefore, political parties must always seek to accommodate the aspirations of everyone to have a wider appeal. Political parties that do not nurture democratic policies are substandard types of entities whose efficacy often demeans the concept of typical democracy. To some degree, all the discrepancies in the concept of democratization in global politics openly shows lack of universality in the concept of democracy in political parties across the globe (Democracy around the world par. 8). Political science holds that democracy is key in extending the hegemony of political parties. From this dimension, political parties have obligations to nurture democracy as a practice in all their endeavors. Markedly, promoting democracy in political parties has always been an uphill task in societies that view the West as a threat to their well-being. In such societies, democracy is of a western ideology, and often characterized by stiff objection from party stalwarts whose viewpoint mirrors democracy as a promotion of strategic policies of the West (Democracy around the world par. 2). However, in mature democracies, political parties view democracy as a concrete stake of extending the process of democratization that gives rise to prosperity, pluralism, and greater peace (Shin par. 5). Political scientists often argue that without democracy in political parties, they may end up being extremely radicalized, thus making them seek the assumption of power through clandestine activities such as keeping private armies. Controversial pathways of achieving the full dimensions of democracy and the archetypical mismatches between words and deeds continue to cloud appreciation of the universality of democracy in political parties (Shin par. 3). Among the tried, tested, and trusted findings in international community studies, mature democracies are never at war. However, it is the feeling of being left out that sparks conflicts of interest in political parties. If all political parties were democratic, then it would be easy to make elections free, fair, and transparent in all parts of the world (Sen 7). Given that the universality of democracy is far from the truth in many political parties, there is always political activism within them. Such activism often seeks to make the political parties more realistic to the desires of their membership. Moreover, political scientists hold that as parties become more democratic, their appeals progress making such parties secure greater membership (Democracy around the world par. 8). With minimal boundaries to membership, parties become more relevant to the masses, making them have greater positioning to take up the duty of running the government. Foreign policies naturally have the feeling of the masses, and usually find it easy to work with governments or political parties that cherish their ideals. Liberalism in the concept of governance is usually the interest of international community irrespective of which political party is in power, and they habitually extend an olive branch to all elected governments. Recognizing the mandate of political parties that are in government legally helps preserve democratic appeals while making other less democratic parties own up and nurture democratic practices (Lagon par. 4). Most parties, as Lagon (par. 5) observes, advocate for sovereignty at the expense of democracy. In such situations, the power of the people is trapped underfoot, and the oligarchies have a say in all that happens in the parties. Such practices deprive the political parties of meaningful roles in advocating for human rights and democracy in the regions that they operate. The popular opinion amongst civil society groups is that there is a need to cut any link with political parties or governments that do not nurture democratic practices though sheer interests. If these trends were not the case, then mature democracies would only enter into any kind of dealing with governments or parties that have attested to the willingness of exploring the full dimension of democracy. What most civilized democracies fail to figure out is that durable stability emanates from domestic politics founded on peaceful competition in elective politics, which in turn promotes the much-desired conduct by different governments (Lagon par. 11). While periodic elections are important pointers to democracy in parties or in the concept of governance, elections on their own do not necessarily sum up the full dimension of democracy in the administration of a political party (Shin par. 3). Political scientists hold that the lifeline of political parties subsists within liberalism, freedom, and civility, which are some of the things that form formidable political parties. The all-pervasive lack of free and fair elections in several parties across the world shows the great discrepancies in the universality of democracy as a political party’s concept. In remote democracies such as in the United Arab Emirates and several African nations, party primaries are often predetermined, not contested; they are awarded to the ruling dynasties or the money bugs, making a sharp mockery to election as a civic duty in political parties (Burnell par. 5). In the United States, for comparison, party primaries are highly contested, and candidates are elected based on their suitability to hold a state office upon an election, making such governments robust and consistent in the delivery of their pre-election pledges (Shin par. 3). On the democratic aspects, the theory of democracy believes that the government should be responsible and answerable to the needs of its people. According to political science, the organization of politics in any modern democracy is the role of political parties. On the other hand, some observers hold that parties act as channels for extremists to voice their concerns, as well as detract government functions to its citizenry (Democracy around the world par. 3). The entire concept of democracy remains a global struggle with two schools of thought holding different opinions. Overall, it makes sense to argue that democracy is the preserve of most political parties. In areas where citizens freely and equally participate in the civic duties while elected individuals remain accountable to the people’s preferences, political parties stand a formidable chance of appealing to the masses, thus making them accrue greater membership in readiness for state duties. With greater appeal, parties have the capacity to rule with the power of majority, which makes parties in power govern smoothly without the interference by the opposition. In many parties in the world today, democracy is the measure for which parties appeal for greater membership. Without democracy, even a party that stands a fair chance of winning elections may become intolerant, week, and obsolete, as many members may not seek allegiance in other parties that nurture democracy.
Works Cited
Burnell, Peter. Westminster Foundation for Democracy: Building Better Democracies. 2004. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
Democracy around the world. 2008. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
Farrell, David., Paul Webb, and Kenneth Janda. Party Politics: The International Journal for the Study of Political Parties and Political Organizations. 2007. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
Freeman, Gary. Political Science and Comparative Immigration Politics. 2003. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
Janos, Simon. The Change of Function of Political Parties at the Turn of Millennium. 2003. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
Lagon, Mark. Promoting democracy: The Whys and hows for the United States and the international community. 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
Noel, Hans. “Ten Things Political Scientists Know that You Don’t.” Political Science and Practical Politics 8.3 (2010): 1-22.
Sen, Amartya Kumar. “Democracy as a universal value.” Journal of Democracy 10.3 (1999): 3-17. Print
Shin, Doh Chull. Is democracy emerging as a universal value? A Contrarian perspective. 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.