1. Political Parties
Linkage Institutions

2. How do people organize around elections?
Linkage Institutions
Political Parties
How do people organize around elections?

3. Linkages
Linkage Institutions

4. Linkages What are they? Linkage Institutions Linkage Institutions
Institutions that link the people to the government
Linkage
They are a middle step between people and the government
Institutions
People rely on them and value them – expect them to play a role

5. Linkages What are they? Linkage Institutions
Are ways that people can communicate their wishes to the government
They are a means of delivering information from the government to the people
They are a means of delivering information to policy makers from the people
They are in place to help the government serve the will of the people

6. Linkages What are they? Linkage Institutions Political Parties
Interest Groups
Mass Media
Want to decide WHO runs the government
Want to decide WHAT the government does
Serves as a means of communication between the people and the government

7. Political Parties
Linkage Institutions

8. {Political Parties Parties Political Party
An alliance of people who work together to win elections and control the government
They compete against other groups of people for political power
They aim to control the government to put their policies into effect to demonstrate their effectiveness at governing
They are factions of people who advocate for their own interests

9. {Political Parties Parties Party in Power Opposition Party
In US politics, the party in power is the one that controls the presidency
Party out of Power
The party that does not control the presidency is seen as the party out of power – no matter how many other parts of the government they control
Opposition Party

10. Party in the Electorate
{Political Parties
Components
Party Organization
These are the people that run the political party itself – day to day operations between elections
Party in the Electorate
These are the people that support the party by voting for them in elections
Party in Government
These are the party members who won their elections and control a government office

11. Functions of Political Parties
Linkage Institutions

12. Political Parties Functions Win
The main function of a political party is to win elections
Everything else they do is a secondary goal
Everything they do is a means to improve their chances in an election or in future elections

13. Political Parties Functions Control
Political Parties want to control the government
They want to control who is in control of government offices
If they succeed in winning elections, they control offices in government. The more they win – the more control they have

14. Political Parties Functions Organize
Political Parties have to mobilize voters
They have to locate potential supporters and convince them to act
They have to organize people at very local levels and coordinate all those groups at the national level

15. Political Parties Functions Inform
Political Parties have to inform voters
They used to have a near monopoly on political information
They still play a role in informing voters about candidates and issues – although their role is diminished significantly
They give voters cues on where to stand on certain issues.

16. Political Parties Functions Raise Money
Political Parties have to fund raise
They use this to fund campaigns for candidates
They have to allocate these funds to races that they have the best chance of winning
They raise money in strongholds (CA & NY) and spend it in competitive places

17. Political Parties Functions Nominate
Political Parties pick the people that will run for offices
They have to recruit candidates at local level for thousands of offices nationwide
They use these officers as a “bench” from which they bring local candidates up to higher offices to run
They control forms of nominations like primaries and caucuses

18. Political Parties Functions Campaign
Political Parties run campaigns to help their nominees win
They have to advertise for their nominees
They advocate for their elections as individuals and advertise for them as groups
They also attempt to damage the reputation of the opposing party

19. Political Parties Functions Watchdog
The party out of power monitors the party in power
They have to criticize the party in power and blame it for failures
They do this with future elections in mind. Criticism of the party in power is an effective form of campaign advertisement
Every criticism of the party now hurts that party in the next election

20. Bigly Ideas
Beliefs & Behaviors

21. Components of the Party
History
Wrap Up
Linkage Institutions
Political Parties
Components of the Party
Party Functions
Focus on these things: