POSC 225 -- Exam 2 Martin Cohen Study
Guide
Edmund Burke (1740s) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- was a
fan of political parties; positive definition
- "men united, promoting by their joint endeavors the national interest, upon
some particular principle in which they are all agreed"
- promoting national interest; shows he is a fan of political parties
James Madison (1780s) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- not a
fan of political parties
- "a faction, whether amounting to a majority or minority... united and actuated
by some common impulse... adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the
permanent and aggregate interest of the community"
- United: similar to Burke, but different in the effects of a party
E.E. Schattschneider (1942) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔-
"...organized attempt to get control of the government"
- Organized: introduced to lexicon
- Goal: to get control of the government
- was a fan of strong political parties, but his definition does not show this; his
definition shows a mutual attitude
Anthony Downs (1957) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- "... a
coalition of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by legal means"
- Coalition: group of individuals who have certain ends in common and
cooperate to achieve those ends
- Coalition: new word to lexicon
,V. O. Key (1964) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- conceived
of parties as three legged stool... "PIE, PIG, PO"
- shows three parts of political party
PIE - correct answer ✔Party in the Electorate -- consists of voters and those
who identify with a political party, psychological attachment and will often vote
for those party candidates
PIG - correct answer ✔Party in Government -- government position holders
(elected officials) who run under party label and try to get policies passed for
said party
PO - correct answer ✔Party Organization -- consists of party workers, staff
members, and committees; tries to get the candidates elected from their party
John Aldrich (1996) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- "... an
endogenous institution -- an institution by these political actors... It is
ambitious politicians' creation"
- elected officials create, and mutate parties in order to get re-elected
- decisions are made by the party in itself
Tom Schwartz (1996) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- "... a
long coalition"
- long (over a series of issues and over a period of time)
- party is not just an agreement to vote together on single bill, but an
agreement to vote on hundreds of bills together over long periods of time
Functions of a Political Party - correct answer ✔- aggregating societal
interests
- compromising competing demands
, - recruiting leadership
- nominating candidates
- contesting elections
- seeking to organize government
Aggregating Societal Interest - correct answer ✔- adding up interests of
individuals, putting them together
- they decide what they will talk about via agenda setting
- party platforms distributed to the nation every 4 years at national convention
to nominate president
- platform: list of issue positions and decides what the party will stand for and
how much emphasis each issue will get
Compromising Competing Demands - correct answer ✔- need to appeal to a
majority on an issue to obtain control of the government
- need to create coalitions (groups of groups) in order to win majorities, if they
cast to narrow of a net on one or two interests (third parties) they will not win
- this is how they differ from interest groups, because those groups focus
solely on one specific issue
- Party Coalition between different parties
Party Coalition - correct answer ✔- The groups and interests that support a
political party, or an action by a specific political party
New Deal Coalition - correct answer ✔- Series of programs and policies put
into law by the Democratic party and FDR in 1930s due to the Great
Depression
- Democrats passed this to try to jump start the economy
Guide
Edmund Burke (1740s) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- was a
fan of political parties; positive definition
- "men united, promoting by their joint endeavors the national interest, upon
some particular principle in which they are all agreed"
- promoting national interest; shows he is a fan of political parties
James Madison (1780s) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- not a
fan of political parties
- "a faction, whether amounting to a majority or minority... united and actuated
by some common impulse... adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the
permanent and aggregate interest of the community"
- United: similar to Burke, but different in the effects of a party
E.E. Schattschneider (1942) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔-
"...organized attempt to get control of the government"
- Organized: introduced to lexicon
- Goal: to get control of the government
- was a fan of strong political parties, but his definition does not show this; his
definition shows a mutual attitude
Anthony Downs (1957) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- "... a
coalition of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by legal means"
- Coalition: group of individuals who have certain ends in common and
cooperate to achieve those ends
- Coalition: new word to lexicon
,V. O. Key (1964) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- conceived
of parties as three legged stool... "PIE, PIG, PO"
- shows three parts of political party
PIE - correct answer ✔Party in the Electorate -- consists of voters and those
who identify with a political party, psychological attachment and will often vote
for those party candidates
PIG - correct answer ✔Party in Government -- government position holders
(elected officials) who run under party label and try to get policies passed for
said party
PO - correct answer ✔Party Organization -- consists of party workers, staff
members, and committees; tries to get the candidates elected from their party
John Aldrich (1996) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- "... an
endogenous institution -- an institution by these political actors... It is
ambitious politicians' creation"
- elected officials create, and mutate parties in order to get re-elected
- decisions are made by the party in itself
Tom Schwartz (1996) Definition of Political Party - correct answer ✔- "... a
long coalition"
- long (over a series of issues and over a period of time)
- party is not just an agreement to vote together on single bill, but an
agreement to vote on hundreds of bills together over long periods of time
Functions of a Political Party - correct answer ✔- aggregating societal
interests
- compromising competing demands
, - recruiting leadership
- nominating candidates
- contesting elections
- seeking to organize government
Aggregating Societal Interest - correct answer ✔- adding up interests of
individuals, putting them together
- they decide what they will talk about via agenda setting
- party platforms distributed to the nation every 4 years at national convention
to nominate president
- platform: list of issue positions and decides what the party will stand for and
how much emphasis each issue will get
Compromising Competing Demands - correct answer ✔- need to appeal to a
majority on an issue to obtain control of the government
- need to create coalitions (groups of groups) in order to win majorities, if they
cast to narrow of a net on one or two interests (third parties) they will not win
- this is how they differ from interest groups, because those groups focus
solely on one specific issue
- Party Coalition between different parties
Party Coalition - correct answer ✔- The groups and interests that support a
political party, or an action by a specific political party
New Deal Coalition - correct answer ✔- Series of programs and policies put
into law by the Democratic party and FDR in 1930s due to the Great
Depression
- Democrats passed this to try to jump start the economy
