ABSTRACT
FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES The key actors in any democratic electoral system are political parties. Political parties serve several essential roles in modern democracies, making politics as we know it today “unthinkable” without them.4 Indeed, political parties arose with the expansion of suffrage and introduction of democratic politics, first in the US in the early 1800s and later in Europe in the late 1800s through early 1900s.5 Their primary function is to contest elections and nominate candidates for public office. This activity distinguishes political parties from other organizations such as interest groups, which are involved in political life but do not nominate candidates and seek formal governmental authority. In Europe, there are few US-style primaries, meaning that party organizations have a great deal of control in recruiting and nominating candidates for office. Typically, they choose individuals that they believe will be loyal to the goals and top leadership of the party, thus helping to ensure a higher degree of party discipline among elected officials in Europe than one finds in the US.6 Mavericks rarely buck the party line, knowing that they risk losing their party’s nomination in the next election cycle.
