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 are in - Essay Example In this manner citizens have a scope of exercising their ultimate control over the government (Rush 1998). Nature 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 equality 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 view was also 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 way of life and a part of national psyche. Thus, it might be said that social democracy is an essential prerequisite for political democracy to strike firm roots in a country (Holden 1974). A s a political dispensation, democracy has to channelize and concentrate the wills of millions of citizens through some framework to the hands of the ruling few. This in a sense possibly violates basic democracy that is observed 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 two 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 rather 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 perfect, are nonetheless target oriented experiments and are not random potshots in the dark or conceived by a one or a small group of individuals who consider them to be more concerned and mo re 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 O’Donnell signify descent of Republican Party? A case that might be investigated is that of the ascent of Christian O’Donnell. The ascendance of a relative outsider in the conservative echelons of American politics 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 O’Donnell is a vociferous campaigner of what she perceives as Christian moral values and is not known to have any well defined economic or political agenda. Yet such people are not only winning primaries by defe ating 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