1. Two Party Systems What we have in the United States Democrats and Republicans are our two major parties Benefits: – Stability and continuity – clear division on many issues Disadvantages: – Crowds-out third parties

2. One Party Systems Only one party controls the government Most common in Communist countries – China, North Korea, Cuba, etc. Since only one party controls, there is no opposition Only candidates that can run for office are the ones that belong to that single party (e.g. Communist)

3. Multi Party Systems Very common in many countries around the world More than 3 parties compete for power in government

4. Multi Party Systems (con’t) Advantages: – Many clear choices for candidates and issues (lots of variety in candidates) Disadvantages: – Hard to get majorities (>50% control in govt.) So how do multi-party systems get majorities? – They form coalitions Coalition – alliance with another party or parties Sometimes they DON'T form coalitions ;)