Political Parties Elections

A study of democracy cannot take place without analyzing political parties and elections. Political parties, in the West at least, have contributed enormously to the flourishing and stability of democracy. Parties link the state and society, take part in elections and contribute towards the structuring (and re-structuring) of political processes and institutions. Yet, the nature of political parties differ throughout time and space; similarly, the nature of elections differ throughout democracies - there is significant diversity in the way the electoral systems are structured, the legislations governing elections, the frequency of elections, the way campaigns are conducted, inter alia. As such, there is a need to understand the differing types of parties and elections, the impact that they have on society and political systems, who runs in elections, how voters make their choices, and the threats to our existing understandings of democracy and elections. This module studies the development of political parties and electoral systems, emphasizing the analytical component (how and why) in addition to the standard descriptive approach (what).