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105-2911: (Redirected from Liberal Democrat ) Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats . These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology, although they can vary widely from very progressive to far-right . Active parties [ edit ] Country Party [REDACTED] Afghanistan Liberal Democratic Party of Afghanistan [REDACTED] Angola Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Australia Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Bangladesh Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Belarus Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus [REDACTED] Belgium Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats [REDACTED] Bosnia and Herzegovina Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Croatia Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats [REDACTED] France Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Germany Free Democratic Party Liberal Democrats [REDACTED] Iceland Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Italy European Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats [REDACTED] Japan Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Malaysia Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Moldova Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova [REDACTED] Mozambique Liberal and Democratic Party of Mozambique [REDACTED] Netherlands Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] North Macedonia Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Portugal Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Russia Liberal Democratic Party of Russia [REDACTED] Serbia Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Slovenia Liberal Democracy of Slovenia [REDACTED] Sri Lanka Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Sudan Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Switzerland FDP.The Liberals [REDACTED] Transnistria Liberal Democratic Party of Transnistria [REDACTED] Turkey Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Ukraine Liberal Democratic Party of Ukraine [REDACTED] United Kingdom Liberal Democrats [REDACTED] Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Zimbabwe Liberal Democrats ^ The party
210-546: A liberal - conservative divide, or around religious disputes. The spread of the party model of politics was accelerated by the 1848 Revolutions around Europe. The strength of political parties in the United States waned during the Era of Good Feelings , but shifted and strengthened again by the second half of the 19th century. This was not the only country in which the strength of political parties had substantially increased by
315-456: A party chair , who may be different people from the party leader. These executive organizations may serve to constrain the party leader, especially if that leader is an autocrat. It is common for political parties to conduct major leadership decisions, like selecting a party executive and setting their policy goals, during regular party conferences . Much as party leaders who are not in power are usually at least nominally competing to become
420-463: A single-member district electoral system tend to have very few parties, whereas countries that use proportional representation tend to have more. The number of parties in a country can also be accurately estimated based on the magnitude of a country's electoral districts and the number of seats in its legislature. An informative way to classify the party systems of the world is by how many parties they include. Because some party systems include
525-416: A candidate in one electoral district has an incentive to assist a similar candidate in a different district. Thus, political parties can be mechanisms for preventing candidates with similar goals from acting to each other's detriment when campaigning or governing. This might help explain the ubiquity of parties: if a group of candidates form a party and are harming each other less, they may perform better over
630-526: A candidate to victory in an election. Some scholars argue that the first modern political parties developed in early modern Britain in the 17th century, after the Exclusion Crisis and the Glorious Revolution . The Whig faction originally organized itself around support for Protestant constitutional monarchy as opposed to absolute rule , whereas the conservative Tory faction (originally
735-403: A community of party members. Parties in democracies usually select their party leadership in ways that are more open and competitive than parties in autocracies, where the selection of a new party leader is likely to be tightly controlled. In countries with large sub-national regions, particularly federalist countries, there may be regional party leaders and regional party members in addition to
840-532: A country with multiple competitive parties is not necessarily democratic, and the politics of many autocratic countries are organized around one dominant political party. The ubiquity and strength of political parties in nearly every modern country has led researchers to remark that the existence of political parties is almost a law of politics, and to ask why parties appear to be such an essential part of modern states. Political scientists have therefore come up with several explanations for why political parties are
945-595: A deeper connection to the electorate. The idea of people forming large groups or factions to advocate for their shared interests is ancient. Plato mentions the political factions of Classical Athens in the Republic , and Aristotle discusses the tendency of different types of government to produce factions in the Politics . Certain ancient disputes were also factional, like the Nika riots between two chariot racing factions at
1050-413: A democracy will often affiliate with a specific political party. Party membership may include paying dues, an agreement not to affiliate with multiple parties at the same time, and sometimes a statement of agreement with the party's policies and platform. In democratic countries, members of political parties often are allowed to participate in elections to choose the party leadership. Party members may form
1155-451: A democracy. There have been periods of government exclusively or entirely by one party in some countries that are often considered to have been democratic, and which had no official legal barriers to the inclusion of other parties in the government; this includes recent periods in Botswana , Japan , Mexico , Senegal , and South Africa . It can also occur that one political party dominates
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#17328382139861260-426: A large membership base. Further, mass parties prioritize the mobilization of voters and are more centralized than elite parties. The term "catch-all party" was developed by German-American political scientist Otto Kirchheimer to describe the parties that developed in the 1950s and 1960s as a result of changes within the mass parties. The term "big tent party" may be used interchangeably. Kirchheimer characterized
1365-485: A large number of parties that have a very low probability of winning elections, it is often useful to think about the effective number of parties (the number of parties weighted by the strength of those parties) rather than the literal number of registered parties. In a non-partisan system, no political parties exist, or political parties are not a major part of the political system. There are very few countries without political parties . In some non-partisan countries,
1470-401: A large number of political parties around the world, not all political parties have an organizing ideology, or exist to promote ideological policies. For example, some political parties may be clientelistic or patronage -based organizations, which are largely concerned with distributing goods. Other political parties may be created as tools for the advancement of an individual politician. It
1575-491: A major upheaval in their politics and have not yet returned to a stable system of political parties. For example, the United States began as a non-partisan democracy, and it evolved a stable system of political parties over the course of many decades. A country's party system may also dissolve and take time to re-form, leaving a period of minimal or no party system, such as in Peru following the regime of Alberto Fujimori . However, it
1680-399: A nearly universal political phenomenon. One of the core explanations for the existence of political parties is that they arise from pre-existing divisions among people: society is divided in a certain way, and a party is formed to organize that division into the electoral competition. By the 1950s, economists and political scientists had shown that party organizations could take advantage of
1785-511: A number of countries, particularly longstanding European democracies. Political scientists have distinguished between different types of political parties that have evolved throughout history. These include elite parties, mass parties, catch-all parties and cartel parties. Elite parties were political elites that were concerned with contesting elections and restricted the influence of outsiders, who were only required to assist in election campaigns. Mass parties tried to recruit new members who were
1890-417: A phenonmenon observable among European Green parties during their transformation from radical environmentalist movements to mainstream centre-left parties. An Entrepreneurial party is a political party that is centered on a political entrepreneur , and dedicated to the advancement of that person or their policies. While some definitions of political parties state that a party is an organization that advances
1995-441: A pop- diva and a veteran of Russian pop scene Alla Pugacheva , "prostitutes" ("I thought you are an artful person, politician, cunning man, but you are just a clown and a psycho", replied Pugacheva. "I am what I am. And such is my charm", replied Zhirinovsky). As a result, Zhirinovsky gained 6.2% of the votes. During the diplomatic crisis following the 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown by Turkey, Zhirinovsky suggested to bomb
2100-863: A realistic chance of competing to form government. One current example of a two-party system is the United States , where the national government has for much of the country's history exclusively been controlled by either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party . Other examples of countries which have had long periods of two-party dominance include Colombia , Uruguay , Malta , and Ghana . Two-party systems are not limited to democracies; they may be present in authoritarian regimes as well. Competition between two parties has occurred in historical autocratic regimes in countries including Brazil and Venezuela . A democracy's political institutions can shape
2205-412: A single best policy choice without some institution constraining their options. Another prominent explanation for why political parties exist is psychological: parties may be necessary for many individuals to participate in politics because they provide a massively simplifying heuristic , which allows people to make informed choices with much less mental effort than if voters had to consciously evaluate
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#17328382139862310-548: A smaller group can be a feature of party leadership transitions in more autocratic countries, where the existence of political parties may be severely constrained to only one legal political party, or only one competitive party. Some of these parties, like the Chinese Communist Party , have rigid methods for selecting the next party leader, which involves selection by other party members. A small number of single-party states have hereditary succession, where party leadership
2415-405: A source of party income and were often expected to spread party ideology as well as assist in elections. In the United States, where both major parties were elite parties, the introduction of primaries and other reforms has transformed them so that power is held by activists who compete over influence and nomination of candidates. An elite party is a type of political party that was dominant in
2520-479: A specific set of ideological or policy goals, many political parties are not primarily motivated by ideology or policy, and instead exist to advance the career of a specific political entrepreneur . Political ideologies are one of the major organizing features of political parties, and parties often officially align themselves with specific ideologies. Parties adopt ideologies for a number of reasons. Ideological affiliations for political parties send signals about
2625-460: A sub-national region of a democratic country that has a competitive national party system; one example is the southern United States during much of the 19th and 20th centuries, where the Democratic Party had almost complete control, with the Southern states being functionally one-party regimes, though opposition parties were never prohibited. In several countries, there are only two parties that have
2730-470: A very large portion of society and it can play substantial roles in civil society that are not necessarily directly related to political governance; one example of this is the Chinese Communist Party . Bans on competing parties can also ensure that only one party can ever realistically hold power, even without completely outlawing all other political parties. For example, in North Korea , more than one party
2835-617: A way that does not conform to the dominant economic left-right divide in politics, in turn emphasising issues that do not attain prominence within the other parties. Further, niche parties do not respond to changes in public opinion to the extent that mainstream parties do. Examples of niche parties include Green parties and extreme nationalist parties, such as the National Rally in France. However, over time these parties may grow in size and shed some of their niche qualities as they become larger,
2940-603: Is a Russian ultranationalist and right-wing populist political party in Russia . It succeeded the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union (LDPSU) in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union . The party was led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky since its inception until his death in April 2022. Opposing both communism and capitalism of the 1990s, the party scored a major success in
3045-521: Is also common, in countries with important social cleavages along ethnic or racial lines, to represent the interests of one ethnic group or another. This may involve a non-ideological attachment to the interests of that group, or may be a commitment based on an ideology like identity politics . While any of these types of parties may be ideological, there are political parties that do not have any organizing ideology. Political parties are ubiquitous across both democratic and autocratic countries, and there
3150-423: Is also possible – albeit rare – for countries with no bans on political parties, and which have not experienced a major disruption, to nevertheless have no political parties: there are a small number of pacific island democracies, such as Palau , where political parties are permitted to exist and yet parties are not an important part of national politics. In a one-party system , power
3255-405: Is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections . It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics , and parties may promote specific ideological or policy goals. Political parties have become a major part of the politics of almost every country, as modern party organizations developed and spread around the world over
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3360-510: Is common for democratic elections to feature competitions between liberal , conservative , and socialist parties; other common ideologies of very large political parties include communism , populism , nationalism , and Islamism . Political parties in different countries will often adopt similar colours and symbols to identify themselves with a particular ideology. However, many political parties have no ideological affiliation, and may instead be primarily engaged in patronage , clientelism ,
3465-565: Is held entirely by one political party. When only one political party exists, it may be the result of a ban on the formation of any competing political parties, which is a common feature in authoritarian states. For example, the Communist Party of Cuba is the only permitted political party in Cuba , and is the only party that can hold seats in the legislature. When only one powerful party is legally permitted to exist, its membership can grow to contain
3570-407: Is inherited by the child of an outgoing party leader. Autocratic parties use more restrictive selection methods to avoid having major shifts in the regime as a result of successions. In both democratic and non-democratic countries, the party leader is often the foremost member of a larger party leadership. A party executive will commonly include administrative positions, like a party secretary and
3675-408: Is largely insignificant as parties use the resources of the state to maintain their position within the political system. Niche parties are a type of political party that developed on the basis of the emergence of new cleavages and issues in politics, such as immigration and the environment. In contrast to mainstream or catch-all parties, niche parties articulate an often limited set of interests in
3780-521: Is officially permitted to exist and even to seat members in the legislature, but laws ensure that the Workers' Party of Korea retains control. It is also possible for countries with free elections to have only one party that holds power. These cases are sometimes called dominant-party systems or particracies . Scholars have debated whether or not a country that has never experienced a transfer of power from one party to another can nevertheless be considered
3885-399: Is often very little change in which political parties have a chance of holding power in a country from one election to the next. This makes it possible to think about the political parties in a country as collectively forming one of the country's central political institutions , called a party system. Some basic features of a party system are the number of parties and what sorts of parties are
3990-1405: Is perceived as conservative. ^ In name only, de facto the party is right-wing to far-right and ultra-nationalist. Former parties [ edit ] Country Party [REDACTED] Cambodia Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Central African Republic Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Chile Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Czechoslovakia Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] East Germany Liberal Democratic Party of Germany Free Democratic Party [REDACTED] France Liberal Democracy [REDACTED] Hong Kong Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong [REDACTED] Italy Italian Democratic Liberal Party [REDACTED] Japan Okinawa Liberal Democratic Party [ ja ] [REDACTED] Kenya Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Lithuania Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Northern Cyprus Free Democratic Party (Northern Cyprus) [REDACTED] Romania Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Serbia Liberal Democratic Party [REDACTED] Soviet Union Liberal Democratic Party of
4095-442: Is reduced as catch-all parties are financed in part by the state or by donations. In Europe, the shift of Christian Democratic parties that were organized around religion into broader centre-right parties epitomizes this type. Cartel parties are a type of political party that emerged post-1970s and are characterized by heavy state financing and the diminished role of ideology as an organizing principle. The cartel party thesis
4200-432: Is the ideology that is most closely connected to the history of democracies and is often considered to be the dominant or default ideology of governing parties in much of the contemporary world. Many of the traditional competitors to liberal parties are conservative parties. Socialist, communist, feminist, anarchist, fascist, and nationalist parties are more recent developments, largely entering political competitions only in
4305-655: The 1993 Duma elections with almost 23% of the vote, giving it 64 seats of the 450 seats in the State Duma . In the 2021 elections , the party received 7.55% of the vote, giving it 21 seats. Despite the party's name, it has been described as "neither liberal nor democratic nor a party". The LDPR was centred around Zhirinovsky, and is often described as populist , nationalist , or ultranationalist . It has been described as adhering to statism and authoritarianism , and has also been described as fascist , though this label has been disputed. The party, as part of
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4410-638: The August 1991 coup attempt . In 1992, the LDPSU broke apart into its regional offsprings and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) was created as its successor in Russia. In the 1993 Duma elections , the pro-reform party supporting President Boris Yeltsin , Russia's Choice , received only 15% of the vote and the new Communist Party of the Russian Federation only 12.4%. The LDPR emerged as
4515-508: The Bosporus with nuclear weapons. In the parliamentary elections in 2016 , the party improved its result compared to the previous elections. The LDPR surpassed the center-left party A Just Russia , becoming the third largest party in the State Duma. The LDPR won 39 seats, gaining 13.1% of the vote, nearly reaching the second placed Communist Party, which won 13.3% of votes and 42 seats. Also,
4620-625: The Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party . By the early 19th century, a number of countries had developed stable modern party systems. The party system that developed in Sweden has been called the world's first party system, on the basis that previous party systems were not fully stable or institutionalized. In many European countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and France, political parties organized around
4725-633: The Hippodrome of Constantinople . A few instances of recorded political groups or factions in history included the late Roman Republic's Populares and Optimates factions as well as the Dutch Republic's Orangists and the Staatsgezinde . However, modern political parties are considered to have emerged around the end of the 18th century; they are usually considered to have first appeared in Europe and
4830-564: The Royalist or Cavalier faction of the English Civil War ) supported a strong monarchy, and these two groups structured disputes in the politics of the United Kingdom throughout the 18th century The Rockingham Whigs have been identified as the first modern political party, because they retained a coherent party label and motivating principles even while out of power. At the end of
4935-578: The " systemic opposition ", is considered to be traditionally loyal to the Kremlin. Its members are generally called "zhirinovets" ( Russian : жириновец, lit . 'Zhirinovite'). An effectively multi-party system emerged in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s in wake of Mikhail Gorbachev 's reforms . A formal law for this purpose was introduced in October 1990. In April 1991, the Liberal Democratic Party of
5040-417: The 19th and 20th centuries. Environmentalism, multiculturalism, and certain types of fundamentalism became prominent towards the end of the 20th century. Parties can sometimes be organized according to their ideology using an economic left–right political spectrum . However, a simple left-right economic axis does not fully capture the variation in party ideologies. Other common axes that are used to compare
5145-524: The 3% voting barrier and entered the parliament (State Duma) are officially financed by government, according to federal law. As such, all opposition parties in the State Duma are largely funded by the federal budget (e. g. in 2018, LDPR received 99.7% of its funding from the government, CPRF 90%, and A Just Russia 81%). Zhirinovsky had stated that he wants to see a monarch titled "supreme ruler" lead Russia and had promised to shoot his political opponents if elected president. The party's organization
5250-586: The European Union , identifying as a Eurosceptic party, instead preferring pan-Slavism . Professor Henry E. Hale lists the party's main policy stands as nationalism and a focus in law and order . Although it often uses radical opposition rhetoric, the LDPR frequently votes for government proposals. This has led to speculation that the party receives funding from the Kremlin . Political parties in Russia that had broken
5355-478: The KGB. In the early 1990s, Mayor of Saint Petersburg , Anatoly Sobchak claimed that party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky was a "reserve" KGB captain, and a number of key supporters in the LDPR leadership quit the party, accusing Zhirinovsky of KGB ties. The outspoken leader of the party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky , an effective media performer, gained 8% of votes during the 1991 presidential elections . He also supported
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#17328382139865460-471: The LDPR nominated Vladimir Zhirinovsky as a candidate. Zhirinovsky gained 5.7% of the votes in the first round. In 1999, the party participated in the elections as a "Bloc of Zhirinovsky" since the Central Election Commission initially refused to register in the election lists of LDPR, which received 6.0% of the votes. In the 3rd State Duma , Zhirinovsky took up the post of Deputy Chair of
5565-405: The LDPR's success in the early 1990s shocked observers both inside and outside Russia. The Duma elected in 1993 was as an interim solution and its mandate expired in 1995. During the two years, Zhirinovsky's popularity waned and his party's support was halved in the 1995 elections (11.2%). The Communists emerged as the winners, with 22.3% of the vote. In the presidential elections of 1996 ,
5670-710: The Soviet Union [REDACTED] Spain ( Restoration ) Liberal Democratic Party (1913) [REDACTED] Spain Liberal Democratic Party (1982) [REDACTED] Switzerland Free Democratic Party of Switzerland [REDACTED] Thailand Liberal Democratic Party See also [ edit ] Democratic Liberal Party (disambiguation) Democratic Party (disambiguation) Free Democratic Party (disambiguation) Liberal democracy Liberal Democrats (disambiguation) Liberal Party [REDACTED] Index of articles associated with
5775-517: The Soviet Union (LDPSU) became the second officially registered political party in the country. Former KGB General Filipp Bobkov has stated that "in line with Zubatov 's ideas," the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union "proposed creating a pseudo-party controlled by the KGB" to direct the interests and sentiments of certain social groups, however he said that he
5880-424: The State Duma and the post of the head of the faction occupied by his son Igor Lebedev . In the presidential election of 2000 , the party has again put forward Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who won 2.7% of votes. In the parliamentary elections of 2003 , the party won 11.5% of the votes and received 36 seats. In the 2004 presidential election , the LDPR nominated Oleg Malyshkin . The party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky
5985-552: The United States of America, with the United Kingdom's Conservative Party and the Democratic Party of the United States both frequently called the world's "oldest continuous political party". Before the development of mass political parties, elections typically featured a much lower level of competition, had small enough polities that direct decision-making was feasible, and held elections that were dominated by individual networks or cliques that could independently propel
6090-408: The advancement of a specific political entrepreneur , or be a " big tent ", in that they wish to attract voters who have a variety of positions on issues. Political parties are collective entities and activities that organize competitions for political offices. The members of a political party contest elections under a shared label. In a narrow definition, a political party can be thought of as just
6195-600: The allegations. Starting on 11 June, mass protests were held in Khabarovsk Krai in support of Furgal. On 20 July, President Vladimir Putin dismissed Furgal from his position of governor and appointed Moscow-based politician Mikhail Degtyarev , who is also a member of the LDPR, as acting governor. Several regional lawmakers in Khabarovsk opted to leave the LDPR in protest against Furgal's dismissal. The protests included chants of "shame on LDPR", with LDPR loyalists outraged at
6300-405: The base of the volunteer activists and donors who support political parties during campaigns. The extent of participation in party organizations can be affected by a country's political institutions, with certain electoral systems and party systems encouraging higher party membership. Since at least the 1980s, membership in large traditional party organizations has been steadily declining across
6405-467: The century, the United States also developed a party system, called the First Party System . Although the framers of the 1787 United States Constitution did not all anticipate that American political disputes would be primarily organized around political parties, political controversies in the early 1790s over the extent of federal government powers saw the emergence of two proto-political parties :
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#17328382139866510-438: The claim that parties emerge from existing cleavages, or arguing that the claim is not empirically testable. Others note that while social cleavages might cause political parties to exist, this obscures the opposite effect: that political parties also cause changes in the underlying social cleavages. A further objection is that, if the explanation for where parties come from is that they emerge from existing social cleavages, then
6615-424: The cognitive burden for people to cast informed votes. However, some evidence suggests that over the last several decades, the strength of party identification has been weakening, so this may be a less important function for parties to provide than it was in the past. Political parties are often structured in similar ways across countries. They typically feature a single party leader, a group of party executives, and
6720-575: The distribution of voters' preferences over political issues, adjusting themselves in response to what voters believe in order to become more competitive. Beginning in the 1960s, academics began identifying the social cleavages in different countries that might have given rise to specific parties, such as religious cleavages in specific countries that may have produced religious parties there. The theory that parties are produced by social cleavages has drawn several criticisms. Some authors have challenged it on empirical grounds, either finding no evidence for
6825-413: The divisions between lower and upper classes , and they streamline the process of making political decisions by encouraging their members to cooperate. Political parties usually include a party leader, who has primary responsibility for the activities of the party; party executives, who may select the leader and who perform administrative and organizational tasks; and party members, who may volunteer to help
6930-490: The end of the century; for example, around this time the Irish political leader Charles Stewart Parnell implemented several methods and structures like party discipline that would come to be associated with strong grassroots political parties. At the beginning of the 20th century in Europe, the liberal–conservative divide that characterized most party systems was disrupted by the emergence of socialist parties, which attracted
7035-411: The entire party, and some voters decide how to vote in elections partly based on how much they like the leaders of the different parties. The number of people involved in choosing party leaders varies widely across parties and across countries. On one extreme, party leaders might be selected from the entire electorate; on the opposite extreme, they might be selected by just one individual. Selection by
7140-418: The fact that a party is focused on electing candidates, whereas a parliamentary group is a group of political parties, a political faction is a subgroup within a political party, and an advocacy group is focused on advancing a policy agenda. This is related to other features that sometimes distinguish parties from other political organizations, including a larger membership, greater stability over time, and
7245-769: The first political party in Uganda, and its name was chosen as an homage to the Indian National Congress. As broader suffrage rights and eventually universal suffrage slowly spread throughout democracies, political parties expanded dramatically, and only then did a vision develop of political parties as intermediaries between the full public and the government. Political parties are a nearly ubiquitous feature of modern countries. Nearly all democratic countries have strong political parties, and many political scientists consider countries with fewer than two parties to necessarily be autocratic . However, these sources allow that
7350-662: The formation of parties is explicitly banned by law. The existence of political parties may be banned in autocratic countries in order to prevent a turnover in power. For example, in Saudi Arabia , a ban on political parties has been used as a tool for protecting the monarchy. However, parties are also banned in some polities that have long democratic histories, usually in local or regional elections of countries that have strong national party systems. Political parties may also temporarily cease to exist in countries that have either only been established recently, or that have experienced
7455-413: The group of candidates who run for office under a party label. In a broader definition, political parties are the entire apparatus that supports the election of a group of candidates, including voters and volunteers who identify with a particular political party, the official party organizations that support the election of that party's candidates, and legislators in the government who are affiliated with
7560-560: The head of government, the entire party executive may be competing for various positions in the government. For example, in Westminster systems , the largest party that is out of power will form the Official Opposition in parliament, and select a shadow cabinet which (among other functions) provides a signal about which members of the party would hold which positions in the government if the party were to win an election. Citizens in
7665-464: The head of government. In both presidential democracies and parliamentary democracies , the members of a party frequently have substantial input into the selection of party leaders, for example by voting on party leadership at a party conference . Because the leader of a major party is a powerful and visible person, many party leaders are well-known career politicians. Party leaders can be sufficiently prominent that they affect voters' perceptions of
7770-464: The ideologies of political parties include ranges from liberal to authoritarian, from pro-establishment to anti-establishment , and from tolerant and pluralistic (in their behavior while participating in the political arena) to anti-system. Party positions for individual political parties are assessed by different published indices, such as the V-Party Dataset . Though ideologies are central to
7875-518: The introduction of universal suffrage resulted in the creation of worker's parties that later evolved into mass parties; an example is the German Social Democratic Party . These parties represented large groups of citizens who had not previously been represented in political processes, articulating the interests of different groups in society. In contrast to elite parties, mass parties are funded by their members, and rely on and maintain
7980-568: The last few centuries. Although some countries have no political parties , this is extremely rare. Most countries have several parties while others only have one . Parties are important in the politics of autocracies as well as democracies , though usually democracies have more political parties than autocracies. Autocracies often have a single party that governs the country, and some political scientists consider competition between two or more parties to be an essential part of democracy. Parties can develop from existing divisions in society, like
8085-404: The long run than unaffiliated politicians , so politicians with party affiliations will out-compete politicians without parties. Parties can also align their member's incentives when those members are in a legislature. The existence of a party apparatus can help coalitions of electors to agree on ideal policy choices, whereas a legislature of unaffiliated members might never be able to agree on
8190-448: The merits of every candidate individually. Without political parties, electors would have to individually evaluate every candidate in every election. Parties enable electors to make judgments about just a few groups, and then apply their judgment of the party to its entire slate of candidates. Because it is much easier to become informed about a few parties' platforms than the positions of a multitude of independent candidates, parties reduce
8295-440: The most successful. These properties are closely connected to other major features of the country's politics, such as how democratic it is, what sorts of restrictions its laws impose on political parties, and what type of electoral systems it uses. Even in countries where the number of political parties is not officially constrained by law, political institutions affect how many parties are viable. For example, democracies that use
8400-432: The national membership and leadership. Parties are typically led by a party leader , who serves as the main representative of the party and often has primary responsibility for overseeing the party's policies and strategies. The leader of the party that controls the government usually becomes the head of government , such as the president or prime minister , and the leaders of other parties explicitly compete to become
8505-434: The nineteenth century before the introduction of universal suffrage. The French political scientist Maurice Duverger first distinguished between elite and "mass" parties, founding his distinction on the differences within the organisational structures of these two types. Elite parties are characterized by minimal and loose organisation, and are financed by fewer larger monetary contributions typically originating from outside
8610-453: The number of parties that it has. In the 1950s Maurice Duverger observed that single-member district single-vote plurality-rule elections tend to produce two-party systems, and this phenomenon came to be known as Duverger's law . Whether or not this pattern is true has been heavily debated over the last several decades. Some political scientists have broadened this idea to argue that more restrictive political institutions (of which first past
8715-400: The parliamentary elections of 2016, Zhirinovsky said he would run himself. On 9 July 2020, the popular governor of the Khabarovsk Krai and member of the LDPR, Sergei Furgal , who defeated the candidate of Putin's United Russia party in elections two years previously, was arrested and flown to Moscow on charges of involvement in the murders of several businessmen in 2004 and 2005. He denied
8820-464: The party again put forward by Zhirinovsky, whose campaign slogan for 2012 was "Vote Zhirinovsky, or things will get worse". Proshka , a donkey owned by Zhirinovsky, became prominent during the presidential campaign when he was filmed in an election advertisement video . On the last episode of debates with Mikhail Prokhorov just before the elections, Zhirinovsky produced a scandal by calling those Russian celebrities which supported Prokhorov, including
8925-486: The party believes include Transcaucasia , Central Asia , Belarus and Ukraine). The LDPR regards the United States and NATO as Russia's main external threats. The party has harshly criticised the discrimination against ethnic Russians in the Baltic states and demanded that they should be given Russian citizenship and protected against discriminatory legislation. The LDPR is also against corruption and enlargement of
9030-566: The party gained single-member constituencies in Russian Far East (notably in Khabarovsk Krai ). In 2015, Zhirinovsky expressed a desire to participate in the presidential elections in 2018 . In the past, key figures in the LDPR other than Zhirinovsky had been discussed as potential presidential candidates, such as Zhirinovsky's son Igor Lebedev as well as his close associates Mikhail Degtyarev , Yaroslav Nilov and Alexei Didenko . After
9135-478: The party leadership's failure to rally around Furgal. In February 2022, Zhirinovsky was hospitalized in critical condition in Moscow with COVID-19 . In March, he was reportedly placed in a medically induced coma , and underwent treatment for COVID-19 complications such as sepsis and respiratory failure . Zhirinovsky claimed to have been vaccinated against COVID-19 eight times. On 25 March 2022, Zhirinovsky
9240-420: The party, donate money to it, and vote for its candidates. There are many different ways in which political parties can be structured and interact with the electorate. The contributions that citizens give to political parties are often regulated by law, and parties will sometimes govern in a way that favours the people who donate time and money to them. Many political parties are motivated by ideological goals. It
9345-443: The party. In many countries, the notion of a political party is defined in law, and governments may specify requirements for an organization to legally qualify as a political party. Political parties are distinguished from other political groups or clubs, such as parliamentary groups, because only presidents have control over the political foundations of the party and also they include political factions, or advocacy groups, mostly by
9450-547: The party. Elite parties give little priority to expanding the party's membership base, and its leaders are its only members. The earliest political parties, such as the Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists , are classified as elite parties. A mass party is a type of political party that developed around cleavages in society and mobilized the ordinary citizens or 'masses' in the political process. In Europe,
9555-586: The policies of Indira Gandhi in the 1970s. The formation of the Indian National Congress , which developed in the late 19th century as a pro-independence faction in British India and immediately became a major political party after Indian independence, foreshadowed the dynamic in many newly independent countries; for example, the Uganda National Congress was a pro-independence party and
9660-444: The post is one example) tend to produce a smaller number of political parties, so that extremely small parties systems – like those with only two parties – tend to form in countries with very restrictive rules. Liberal Democratic Party of Russia LDPR — Liberal Democratic Party of Russia ( Russian : ЛДПР — Либерально-демократическая партия России , romanized : LDPR — Liberalno-demokraticheskaya partiya Rossii )
9765-507: The same name This set index article includes a list of related items that share the same name (or similar names). Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Liberal_Democratic_parties&oldid=1248789234 " Categories : Set index articles Lists of political parties Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata All set index articles Political party A political party
9870-403: The shift from the traditional mass parties to catch-all parties as a set of developments including the "drastic reduction of the party's ideological baggage" and the "downgrading of the role of the individual party member". By broadening their central ideologies into more open-ended ones, catch-all parties seek to secure the support of a wider section of the population. Further, the role of members
9975-447: The support of organized trade unions . During the wave of decolonization in the mid-20th century, many newly sovereign countries outside of Europe and North America developed party systems that often emerged from their movements for independence. For example, a system of political parties arose out of factions in the Indian independence movement , and was strengthened and stabilized by
10080-422: The theory is an incomplete story of where political parties come from unless it also explains the origins of these social cleavages. An alternative explanation for why parties are ubiquitous across the world is that the formation of parties provides compatible incentives for candidates and legislators. For example, the existence of political parties might coordinate candidates across geographic districts, so that
10185-589: The types of policies they might pursue if they were in power. Ideologies also differentiate parties from one another, so that voters can select the party that advances the policies that they most prefer. A party may also seek to advance an ideology by convincing voters to adopt its belief system. Common ideologies that can form a central part of the identity of a political party include liberalism , conservatism , socialism , communism , anarchism , fascism , feminism , environmentalism , nationalism , fundamentalism , Islamism , and multiculturalism . Liberalism
10290-489: The vote. In the parliamentary elections of 2011 , the party scored 11.7% of the vote and won 56 seats. In the 6th State Duma , Vladimir Zhirinovsky returned to the post of head of the LDPR faction and his son Igor Lebedev has held the position of Vice Chairman of the State Duma. In these elections the LDPR gained over one-fifth of votes in Russian Far East (e. g. Primorsky Krai ). In the presidential elections 2012 ,
10395-757: The winner with 22.9% of the popular vote. In effect, the Russian population was divided to those who supported Yeltsin's reforms and to those who did not. It is regarded that the popularity of Zhirinovsky and his party arose from the electorate's dissatisfaction with Yeltsin and their desire for a non-communist solution. Zhirinovsky is credited with having successfully identified the problems of ordinary Russians and offering simple remedies to solve them. For example, he has suggested that all leaders of organized crime should be shot and all Chechens deported from Russia. Zhirinovsky also called for territorial expansion of Russia. Many of Zhirinovsky's views are highly controversial and
10500-462: Was against the idea. Former Politburo member Alexander Yakovlev described how KGB director Vladimir Kryuchkov proposed the creation of the party with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at a meeting. He also stated that the Central Committee took over which led to the creation of the Liberal Democratic Party. Yakovlev called the creation of the party a joint effort of the Central Committee and
10605-421: Was almost entirely centered on its former leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who died on 6 April 2022. The party is in alliance with several parties in the former Soviet republics , including Armenia , Belarus , Estonia and Ukraine. In 2003, the party claimed 600,000 members and had issued 475,000 party cards. According to a 2008 survey by Colton, Hale and McFaul, 4% of the Russian population are loyalists of
10710-419: Was developed by Richard Katz and Peter Mair , who wrote that political parties have turned into "semi-state agencies", acting on behalf of the state rather than groups in society. The term 'cartel' refers to the way in which prominent parties in government make it difficult for new parties to enter, as such forming a cartel of established parties. As with catch-all parties, the role of members in cartel parties
10815-409: Was elected party leader. The LDPR seeks "a revival of Russia as a great power". It opposes both communism and neoliberal capitalism . It prefers a mixed economy with private ownership , but with a strong management role reserved for the state. In foreign policy , the party places a strong emphasis on " civilizations ". It has supported the restoration of Russia with its "natural borders" (which
10920-399: Was hoping to take the post of Prime Minister of Russia in case of Malyshkin's victory on elections. In the end, Malyshkin scored 2% of votes, having lost the election. In the legislative elections in 2007 , the LDPR received 5,660,823 votes (8.14%) and received 40 seats in the State Duma. In the 2008 presidential election , Zhirinovsky was re-nominated as a candidate and scored 9.4% of
11025-576: Was reported to have died in a hospital. Despite confirmation from several sources, including his own political party, the news was quickly denied by family members. On 6 April 2022, Vyacheslav Volodin , the Speaker of the Duma , announced that Zhirinovsky had died following a long illness. He was 75. After Zhirinovsky's death, Leonid Slutsky , the head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs,
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