Which of the following Is the Best Definition of a Political Party

Almost all political parties associate themselves with certain colours and symbols, primarily to help voters identify, recognize and remember the party. This branding is especially important in communities where a large portion of the population may be illiterate, so someone who cannot read a party`s name on a ballot may instead identify that party by its color or logo. [154] Parties with similar ideologies often use the same colors in different countries. [155] [156] Colour combinations are useful as abbreviations to designate and represent parties in graphic media. [157] They can also be used to refer to coalitions and alliances between political parties and other organizations; [158] Examples are purple alliances, red-green alliances, traffic light coalitions, pan-green coalitions, and pan-blue coalitions. Political ideologies are one of the most important organizational characteristics of political parties, and parties often officially align themselves with specific ideologies. Parties adopt ideologies for a number of reasons. Ideological affiliations with political parties send signals about the kind of policies they might pursue if they were in power. [81] Ideologies also distinguish parties from one another, allowing voters to choose the party that leads the policies they prefer most. [82] A party may also attempt to advance an ideology by convincing voters to adopt its belief system.

[83] One of the most important explanations for the existence of political parties is that they stem from pre-existing divisions between people: society is divided in a certain way, and a party is founded to organize this division into electoral competition. For example, in Westminster systems, the largest party that is not in power will form the Official Opposition in Parliament and elect a shadow cabinet that (among other functions) will indicate which party members would hold which government positions if the party were to win an election. [59] In a democracy, citizens often join a particular political party. For example, some political parties may be clientelist or clientelist organizations that deal primarily with the distribution of goods. [89] Other political parties may be established as instruments of promotion of an individual politician. [80] [90] In countries where social divisions are significant along ethnic or racial lines, it is also common to represent the interests of one or another ethnic group. [91] This may be a non-ideological attachment to the interests of this group or a commitment based on an ideology such as identity politics. Although each of these types of parties may be ideological, there are political parties that do not have an organizing ideology. [79] The idea of individuals forming large groups or factions to advance their common interests is an old one. Plato mentions the political factions of classical Athens in the Republic,[7] and Aristotle discusses the tendency of different types of government to produce factions in politics. [8] Some ancient conflicts were also between factions, such as the Nika riots between two chariot racing factions at the Constantinople Hippodrome. Some examples of political groups or factions recorded in history were the Populares and Optimates of the late Roman Republic, as well as the Orangemen of the Dutch Republic and the Staatsgezinde.

However, modern political parties are thought to have emerged towards the end of the 18th century; They are widely believed to have first appeared in Europe and the United States of America, with the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom and the Democratic Party of the United States often referred to as the « oldest continuous political party » in the world. [9] [2] [10] [11] The theory that parties are created by social divisions has been the subject of several criticisms.