Q) Assess the arguments that support the theory of party decline (15marks)

Q) Assess the arguments that support the theory of party decline. (15 marks)

In the last few decades it can be argued that both of the major political parties are now merely broad coalitions of a range of fractions, where similarities outweigh the differences. These compromises and the shifting of ideology has caused division, making it more difficult for people to distinguish between party views. With very little or no significant political standing points, parties have lost significance and declined as they continue to lose power and support of voters. However,others argue recent years has seen a movement of party renewal.

One of the reasons that supports the argument of party decline is that parties have lost its role in candidate selection. Today the candidate for the Presidential Election is chosen in primaries by the voters, in contrast to the 1960's where party officials came together in "smoke filled rooms" to select a candidate. Although the system of selection may be more democratic it has weakend the parties dramatically. By choosing the candidate, parties were able to enhance their ideologies and policies, peer review allowed officials to select a candidate based on their knowledge of qualities possesed by a good President, essentially allowing representative democracy to be fulfilled. The new process however, allows outsiders such as Obama and Bill Clinton, who did not champion traditional party values, to demise the core function of parties with manifesation decline, thus creating party decline. Also the loss of this power enables rogue candidates such as Donald Trump, who was not supported by the Republican party for majority of his campaign in 2017, to win the presidency. This has lead to somewhat of a stillborn presidency as the Populist president attempts to rule as a dictator without the support of…