Political Parties and Democratic Development

Political Parties and Democratic Development

Presentation at “77 years of Learning Democracy in Thailand and 11 Years of the Establishment of the Office of

the Election Commission of Thailand”

Dr. Rainer AdamRegional Director, Friedrich Naumann Foundation

Political Parties and Democracy - 1

Almost all democracies today - presidential as well as

parliamentary democracies - are “representative democracies”

Political Parties and Democracy - 2

This means that:All modern democracies are

based on and organized around

political parties

What is a Political Party? - 1

Carl J. Friedrich: A political party is a “stabile, organized group of people with an aim to take over or maintain its control of government for its leadership and, based on this control, give its members ideological as well as material benefits.”


Miriam Budiharjo (1999): A political party is an organized group whose members have common orientation, values and ideal. The objective of this group is to gain political power and struggle for political positions – usually by way of constitutional means – to implement their policies.


German Political Party Law § 2:

“Parties are associations of citizens which exert influence permanently or for a longer period of time on the formation of the political will at the federal or land level and participate in the representation of the people in the German Bundestag (parliament) or regional parliaments (Landtag) provided that they offer sufficient guarantee of the sincerity of their aims in the general character of their circumstances and attendant conditions, particularly with regard to the strength of their organisation, their membership and their conduct in public. Only natural persons may be members of a party”


Organic Act on Political Parties of Thailand

Section 4In this Organic Act:

“political party” means a group of persons joined to form a political party for which the application for formation has been acknowledged under this Organic Act, for the purposes of building the political will of the people through the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State by nominating its members for election as members of the House of Representatives and carrying out other political ongoing basis.


Important principles:

political parties need to show a continuity in organisation

A political party is an organisation whose expected lifespan is not dependent on the lifespan of current leaders


General definition:

Political parties in a non-legal sense are private organisations formed by societal groups with mutual interests which organise themselves to achieve common aims. This very general definition can be applied to all existing political parties regardless of the framework, structures, ideologies, cultures and histories of the societies to which they belong.


Basic assumption:

a) the existence of political parties is based on diverse and plural interests which exist in any society and which bring with it various conflicts of interests

b) a political party constitutes itself in a dialectic way between “part” and “totum” which in turn confirms these conflicts of interests as a natural phenomenon of any society

Functions of a Political Party - 1

1. They express in public a political will and contribute to the formulation and discussion of political programmes, ideologies, opinions, options, solutions and visions as regards the future development of society at large.

2. In doing this they contribute to the management of existing conflicts which includes the aggravation, escalation or dissolution of conflicts, and eventually to the creation of new ones. Through their organizational continuity they help to stabilize the political order of a society.


3. Political parties have to fight for and defend their specific interests and at the same time have to work for the integration of other interests. They have to represent the interest of their members and at the same time maximize the number of votes from the general public thereby representing also the aspirations of non-members and the public as a whole. Therefore they contribute to the balancing of varied and often conflicting interests.


4. At the programme level, political parties have to come forward with innovative new designs for a future society and at the same time find solutions for existing problems in the old system. Programmes also have the effect of instilling a certain discipline and focus as regards members’ activities (for example they keep them from squandering aimlessly).


5. Political parties are important socialisation agents of the citizens. They shape and influence public opinion about political phenomena, issues and questions and play a central role in the political discussion and opinion generation. They influence and should promote the interests of citizens in public affairs and political consciousness.


6. Political parties participate in elections in order to obtain a mandate from the sovereign/people to form or/and participate in government. For this, they have to prepare, organise and carry out election and other campaigns. Political parties have to recruit, train and generally prepare the political personnel for parliament and government.


7. As elected representatives they represent their voters in parliament and government. They make decisions on their behalf with far reaching implications for the whole population of a society (including the people who did not vote for them). The transformation of the people’s will/aspirations into state will is a permanent function of political parties. On the basis of the majority principle, political parties lend legitimacy to government decisions.


8. If not participating in government, parties play the role of the opposition, i.e. supervise, criticize and control the existing government. They provide a different or alternative vision of the society to be. In some countries, this is even formalised in the form of so-called shadow ministers. Never forget: in a democracy, today’s opposition may become tomorrow’s government.


Tensions emerging because of conflicting objectives:

Articulation of particular interests vs. Aggregation and integration of varying interests


Representation of specific interests vs. Maximisation of votes

Programme formulation and implementation vs. System supporting problem solving (case by case)


Mobilisation of support (cadres and voters) vs. Political socialisation (shaping of political opinion and attitudes of population)

Realisation of own supporters‘ interests vs. Recruitment of political personnel for parliament and government

Image of Politicians and Parties - 1

In many countries, also in Western democracies, politicians and political parties have a negative image

Therefore, a bad image of politics in general could be seen as “normal“

Image of Political Parties - Germany

Popularity of Politicians - Germany

Image of Politicians and Parties - 2

However, in most Western nations, democracy and its central institutions are firmly in place and are widely accepted by the majority of the population

A negative image of parties and politicians does not seriously threaten democracy

There are no alternative models that are promoted to replace democracy

Reforming Political Parties - 1

It is even more important that the agenda for reform is set by the political parties themselves

Today most criticism and proposals for reform come from NGO/CSO, activists, academics, scholars, etc.

Reforming Political Parties - 2

Political parties need to become the agenda setters – however, not behind closed doors but in an open and transparent process

In the present competition of our times, political parties should not remain static but have to constantly renew themselves

The Significance of Political Parties in the Democratic Process - 1

Political parties form the key element of democratic society and serve a function unlike any other institution in a democracy

Political parties are the only actors who can provide the required framework of the transition to democracy


Differences of opinion and the tolerance of diversity are an essential part of the democratic process

The strength of political parties is the negotiation and articulation of compromises, aggregation and representation of social interests as well as the provision not only of a structure for political participation but also of a constructive and critical opposition


However, there is a need to the re-dedication of the renewal and reform of political parties and political party systems

The democratization of political parties has to be a precedence in the efforts to restore public confidence in parties and the democratic process as a whole

Political Parties and Democratic Development

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