Discuss the role of political parties in contemporary democracies Essay

Discuss the role of political parties in contemporary democracies. Assess whether parties have retained their position or be in - Essay ExampleIn this manner citizens have a scope of exercising their ultimate control over the government (Rush 1998). temperament of Democracy The concept of social democracy, as manifested through a social state can be attributed to Tocqueville who was very impressed by the prevailing compare of status, manners, and customs in American society when he visited that country in 1831. He felt the essence of democracy has effectively permeated every strata of American society. This cyclorama was similarly echoed by Bryce who was completely overwhelmed by the egalitarian ethos of American society and felt it represented true democratic setup where each citizen felt they are on equal footing with each other fellow citizen (Bryce 1959). This feeling of equality is the lifeblood of a democratic society where democracy is more a mood of life and a part of n ational psyche. Thus, it might be said that social democracy is an essential prerequisite for political democracy to strike trusty roots in a country (Holden 1974). As a political dispensation, democracy has to channelize and concentrate the wills of millions of citizens through some framework to the hands of the popular opinion few. This in a sense possibly violates basic democracy that is sight in small integrated communities. But between one-on-one democracy observed in such miniature closely knit groups and large scale democracies, there is a huge gap and it took entire humankind more than cardinal millenniums to partially bridge that gap (Powell 1982). It must be remembered that democracy undergoes a metamorphosis as it traverses the hiatus between the micro and macro and it would be alternatively unfair to expect all the characteristics of micro democracies to be equally manifested in macro democracies. We can, however, conclude that macro democracies, though far from pe rfect, are nonetheless manoeuver oriented experiments and are not random potshots in the dark or conceived by a one or a small group of individuals who recall them to be more concerned and more informed than others (Sartori 1987). The whole issue about relevance of political parties in a democratic dispensation can however be judged with respect to several contexts as these happen to differ widely in their nature and content. Does ascent of ODonnell signify descent of Republican society? A case that might be investigated is that of the ascent of Christian ODonnell. The ascendance of a relative outsider in the conservative echelons of American political science and the gradual emergence of tea party activists who were politically insignificant earlier brings to mind whether conventional political parties are on their way out and also whether American democracy has transcended the well established bounds of an essentially two party democracy. Christine ODonnell is a vociferous cam paigner of what she perceives as Christian moralistic values and is not known to have any well defined economic or political agenda. Yet such people are not only winning primaries by defeating established politicians but also getting substantial approval from electorate as is apparent when she could garner nearly 40% of the votes polled. That she eventually lost the election is not that important as the