Classification of political parties

Associations, entrenched in the political arena, are an important factor in the development of society. The functions of a political party are determined by its role in the society. And their number is directly influenced by the level of economic, cultural and social maturity.

The world of parties is very diverse and unstable. Some long hold on to the political horizon, others quickly fade away. The ranks of some are constantly replenished, while others include only a few thousand members. The ambiguous history of political parties, the comprehension of their nature prompted theorists of science to systematize this phenomenon. A deep insight into the essence of the question made it possible to identify the most characteristic features of them and create a typology. Classification of political parties there is not one. Their diversity depends on which criterion underlies.

So, the classification of political parties can rely on their functions, methods of activity, social base, ideology, etc.

The most productive and generally recognized was the systematization of M. Duverger. They created a binary classification of political parties. It was based on the organization of life within parties, on the difference in their structure. So, relying on structural characteristics, he singled out the following associations:

1. Personnel parties. They start back in the period when democracy was born, when the right to vote was not available to everyone. They expressed the interests of the exclusively bourgeoisie and sought to unite as many political elites as possible , and not to increase their ranks at the expense of the number of members of the faction. On the territorial principle, personnel parties create committees. In each of the committees there is a permanent group of activists with experience in working with the population. Their main role is the conduct of the pre-election campaign and its organization. They are also engaged in the selection of candidates for participation in elections. Among themselves, committees are usually not connected. In parties of this type there is no registration, membership system, systematic payment of membership fees. This fact also allowed M. Duverger to call them personnel. These are, for the most part, the conservative and liberal associations of Europe.

2. Mass parties. They appear together with permission to all citizens to take part in elections. The main orientation of such parties is the education of the popular masses, the formation of an elite among them. They can be organized both on a territorial basis and on a production basis. Mass parties, unlike personnel, are always open to new members, are interested in their appearance. This is due to the existence of such organizations due to the constant contributions of its members. The need to deal with monetary issues led to the fact that within this association a complex hierarchical structure arose . To strengthen the unity of the organization, the party system is introduced .

Mass associations, in addition, are divided into three more types:

- Communist;

- socialist;

- Fascist.

The left ("proletarian") and the right ("bourgeois") correspond to the mass and cadre parties. Fascist organizations constitute an exception, since, being mass, they have a right bias.

Also, the division into mass and personnel corresponds to the division into parties with a weak and strong organization. Personnel associations are decentralized. This allows them to be referred to poorly organized groups. In them, central bodies are not an authority for independent committees.

In the mass associations, however, there is a strong organization and a centralized character.

Gradual and at the same time constant social changes in the developed countries led to the fact that the classification of political parties, proposed by M. Duverger, was improved several times, supplemented and corrected. But nevertheless the basic division on ideology and the purposes remains former.