Citizens, Parties and the State

Alan J. Ware

ISBN 10: 0745603858 / ISBN 13: 9780745603858

Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd, GB, 1988

About this Item

This book is a major analysis of the role of political parties in the development and promotion of democracy. Alan Ware offers an original discussion of an area of political life which has remained surprisingly under-examined - the impact of parties on democratic life. Ware's work successfully combines a comparative study of parties with a comprehensive discussion of democratic theory. He examines the role of parties in one-party political systems, focussing on the issue of whether there can be democracy in such systems. One-party systems are then contrasted with those found in representative democracies. Ware offers a highly detailed analysis of the development, evolution and structure of political parties in the West, exploring such issues as the nature of voter-choice in two-party and multi-party systems, and who exactly controls the political system - the voter or the parties, the political elite or the grass-roots activists? Finally, Ware looks at the internal operations of political parties and the fate of attempts to democratize them. He draws extensive conclusions about the proper place of parties and party systems in democratic theory. Citizens, Parties and the State will be welcomed by second and third-year students and researchers in politics, sociology, current affairs and international politics.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780745603858

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Citizens, Parties and the State
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd, GB
• Publication Date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0745603858
• ISBN 13: 9780745603858
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 567 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This book is a major analysis of the role of political parties in the development and promotion of democracy. Alan Ware offers an original discussion of an area of political life which has remained surprisingly under-examined – the impact of parties on democratic life.

Ware's work successfully combines a comparative study of parties with a comprehensive discussion of democratic theory. He examines the role of parties in one-party political systems, focussing on the issue of whether there can be democracy in such systems. One-party systems are then contrasted with those found in representative democracies. Ware offers a highly detailed analysis of the development, evolution and structure of political parties in the West, exploring such issues as the nature of voter-choice in two-party and multi-party systems, and who exactly controls the political system – the voter or the parties, the political elite or the grass-roots activists? Finally, Ware looks at the internal operations of political parties and the fate of attempts to democratize them. He draws extensive conclusions about the proper place of parties and party systems in democratic theory.

Citizens, Parties and the State will be welcomed by second and third-year students and researchers in politics, sociology, current affairs and international politics.

About the Author

Alan Ware is Fellow and Tutor in Politics, Worcesterr College, Oxford. His books include Political Parties (editor, 1987), Between Profit and State (1988), Citizens, Parties and the State (1989) and Electoral Systems: A Comparative and Theoretical Introduction (with Andrew Reeve, 1982).