Political Parties and their Advantages
Political parties have the advantage of uniting people and assisting them in pursuing and achieving a variety of common objectives. (Leeper & Slothus, 2014). Many groups of people who have similar political ideologies and viewpoints establish political parties in an effort to influence public policy by securing the election of their candidates to various political positions. (Leeper & Slothus, 2014). Presenting their campaigns, leaders, and candidates to the electorate is one of the duties of political organizations. Additionally, they serve as formalized intermediaries between the society and the legally elected representatives. The duly-elected political parties’ representatives have the responsibility of making decisions and implementing policies on behalf of the people they represent (Leeper & Slothus, 2014). In fact, as a show of unity, sometimes representatives of political parties meet with the electorate to seek opinions from organizations or individuals regarding the formulation process of public policy. In such a way, the political parties' representatives allow the demands of their supporters and members to be represented in the government's policy-making process (Leeper & Slothus, 2014).
Weaknesses of Political Parties
On the other hand, one of the weaknesses of political parties is that they might have selfish publicity that could hurt national interest, thereby creating factionalism (Bolleyer, 2011). When political parties prioritize vicious propagandas and vested interests that only benefit a few individuals and are against other political parties, they damage the political environment of a country. Besides, when a given political party cares more for its members than the whole country, it does not only disturb the peace and order in the nation, but also harms the country’s political atmosphere. Additionally, when a political party carries vested interests that do not consider the well-being of the entire country, it could create animosity among parties, thereby encouraging jealousy and developing periodic insurrection and riots. As a result, the public may be forced to build factions due to lack of agreements on certain issues (Bolleyer, 2011).
Accentuating the Positive Impact of Political Parties
One of the options of accentuating the positive impact resulting from the political parties’ strength of uniting groups of people and helping them achieve common goals is balancing the access and the integrity of the political parties. Political parties, through the help of the state, should make effective use of the country’s demographic data to identify eligible, unregistered members and give them the opportunity to register as party members as a means of increasing the voices of the political parties (Leeper & Slothus, 2014). Besides, political parties should ensure a fair and indiscriminative process of registering their supporters to enhance trust among them, as well as encourage bipartisan support for state legislatures. Political parties can also accentuate the positive impact resulting from their unity strength by enhancing their members’ participation in various party activities as a means of avoiding political polarization (Leeper & Slothus, 2014).
Lessening the Negative Impact of Political Parties
On the other hand, one of the options of lessening the negative impact resulting from the political parties' weakness of selfish publicity and creation of factionalism is improving the process of appointments to various political party leadership positions. A sham appointment process discourages several qualified applicants. Political parties should, therefore, cut back various unnecessary restrictions to allow their members to serve (Bolleyer, 2011). Besides, political parties should ensure that the funds for political parties are solely used for political activities and not for individual interests (Bolleyer, 2011). Additionally, political parties need to inform their supporters and members of the right procedure of presenting their grievances to avoid clashes that may arise between members of a political party and their representatives, or between supporters of one political party and another (Bolleyer, 2011).
References
Bolleyer, N. (2011). The influence of political parties on policy coordination. Governance, 24(3), 469-494. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.2011.01531.x
Leeper, T., & Slothus, R. (2014). Political parties, motivated reasoning, and public opinion formation. Political Psychology, 35, 129-156. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.12164
