Chapter 9

25 July 2022
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political party
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an organization that articulates its stance on a large number of policy positions and runs candidates for political office
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party identification
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an individual's attachment to a particular political party
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party system
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a label based on the number of prominent political parties in the country
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one-party system
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a party system in which one political party controls the government and voters have no option to choose an opposition party; also known as a single-party system
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one-party dominant system
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a party system in which one large party directs the political system, but small parties exist and may compete in elections
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two-party system
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a party system in which two main parties compete for majority control of the government; small parties may exist but play no role in national electoral outcomes
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two-and-a-half party system
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a party system in which two large parties exist alongside a third party that receives a smaller but notable share of the national vote
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multiparty system
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a party system with several important political parties, none of which generally gains a majority of the seats in the national legislature
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election
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a form of conventional mass participation in which the population selects among various individual candidates or political parties seeking political office
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proportional representation
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(PR) an electoral system in which voters cast their votes for political parties and the percentage of the vote that each party receives translates into the percentage of seats that the party receives in the legislature
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open list proportional representation
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an electoral system in which voters cast a vote for a particular party but also play a role in the decision of which candidates receive the seats earned by that party
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threshold
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a rule in PR systems that forces parties to receive a certain percentage of the vote before they receive seats in the legislature
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first past the post
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(FPTP) an electoral system in which voters select a particular candidate for each office, and the candidate receiving a plurality of the vote wins
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runoff
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an election in which the two candidates who receive the most votes in the first round compete in a second round
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majority (majoritarian) system
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another name for a runoff system, since a candidate needs a majority of the vote in the second round to win
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primary election
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an election for a particular political office in which candidates from the same political party compete against each other for the right to represent the party in a general election
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single-member district
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(SMD) an electoral district in which voters choose only one representative, often using the plurality rule to determine the winner
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preference system
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an electoral system that allows voters to rank candidates in a district race and uses the rankings to determine who fills the seat from that district
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alternative vote
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(AV) a preference system approach used in single-member districts
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multi-member district
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(MMD) a system in which more than one candidate is selected from a particular electoral district
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single transferable vote system
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(STV) an electoral system that combines preference voting with multi-member districts
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second past the post
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(SPTP) an electoral system also known as the principle of the first minority, that reserves seats in a particular body fro the party that finishes second in a district election
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hybrid electoral system
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an electoral system that combines PR and FPTP methods by dividing the legislature into separate groups of PR and district seats and having voters select both a party and a candidate
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duverger's law
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the label given to Maurice Duverger's argument that FPTP electoral systems generate two-party systems
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catch-all parties
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political parties that adopt a range of ideologically moderate policies designed to capture broad segments of the population, particularly voters from the middle of the political spectrum
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realignment theory
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a theoretical perspective that contends that the fortunes of major political parties remain stable for long periods, followed by a dramatic change
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critical elections
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elections that mark the beginning of a realignment
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party organization theory
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a theory that highlights the similarities and differences between political parties and businesses, interest groups, and government agencies