Political Parties in Democracy: From US Origins to India’s Polarised Politics

Context

As the United States marks 250 years since its Declaration of Independence, the evolution of its political parties offers important lessons for modern democracies.

Key Highlights

• Modern political parties are seen as one of the most significant institutional innovations of democracy.
• Political parties came to the fore in the United States, but they can provide insights into the development of modern party politics in India and elsewhere.
• In today’s context, political parties seem to be more powerful than ever and at the same time more vulnerable as distinct leaders, as they are more and more affected by social media, media ecosystems and polarising issues in the electoral arena.

Evolution of Political Parties in the United States

• America’s founding leaders initially viewed political parties as dangerous factions that could threaten republican governance.
• Political divisions, though, during the time of George Washington, began to form the first party system.
• The Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans were the result of the opposition between those who believed in a strong central government and those who favored state autonomy.
• As suffrage extended and industrialisation took place, parties increasingly established local organizations, partisan newspapers and national conventions, and patronage networks.
• Eventually, the Whig Party broke apart over the issue of slavery, leading to the establishment of the Republican Party in the 1850s.

Growth of the New Deal and the Political Realignment

• Political parties and the state/economy relationship changed during the Great Depression.
• The New Deal coalition of Franklin D. Roosevelt united workers, cities, minorities and a variety of social groups under the Democratic Party.
• The New Deal increased the government’s role in the employment creation and regulation of the markets and social welfare.
• The Civil Rights Movement, in turn, resulted in a second significant political realignment later.
• There was a gradual polarization of social and political alliances between the Republican and the Democratic parties.

Rise of Personality Politics and Polarisation

• The transition of traditional ideology-based politics to personality and identity-based politics is becoming common in contemporary politics.
• The media’s influence, with the help of TV and social networking, has given individual leaders the means to reach out to voters directly.
• Not only is there policy polarisation, but there is growing affective polarisation, with supporters seeing political opponents as threats to their very existence.
• The political identification, ideological polarization, and polarization in public and social life are sharply apparent in India as well.
• As the gap between the ideologies of the two major parties and those of their constituents increases, political competition has grown.

Do political parties matter anymore?

• The view that political parties have lost some of their influence might be overstated.
• Party labels are still important for voter identification, electoral mobilisation and political coordination even in the era of leader-centric campaigns.
• Independent candidates who have poor party organization remain at a major disadvantage in major democratic systems.
• Political parties bring together conflicting views and transform social needs into electoral and governance agendas.

Way Ahead

• Political parties need to enhance party democracy, transparency and ideology.
• Propagating personality cults and demonising language must not be substituted for political competition based on policies.
• Electoral reforms need to increase the transparency of political funding and candidate selection.
• Parties shall have the responsibility to engage in social media responsibly and to avoid polarisation based on misinformation.
• Democratic institutions should keep political competition and competition as inclusive and issue based and as grounded in the constitution.

Source: The Indian Express

Mains PYQ

(Q) To enhance the quality of democracy in India the Election Commission of India has proposed electoral reforms in 2016. What are the suggested reforms and how far are they significant to make democracy successful? (2017)

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