Associations entrenched in the political arena are an important factor in the development of society. The functions of a political party are determined by its role in society. And their number is directly affected by the level of economic, cultural and social maturity.
The world of parties is very diverse and unstable. Some hold on to the political horizon for a long time, while others quickly fade away. The ranks of some are constantly replenishing, while others include only a few thousand members. The ambiguous history of political parties, the comprehension of their nature, prompted theorists of science to systematize this phenomenon. Deep insight into the issue allowed us to identify the most characteristic features and create a typology. There is more than one classification of political parties. Their diversity depends on what criterion is the basis.
So, the classification of political parties can be based on their functions, methods of activity, social base, ideology, etc.
The most productive and universally recognized was the systematization of M. Duverger. He created a binary classification of political parties. It was based on the organization of life within parties, on the difference in their structure. So, relying on structural characteristics, he identified the following associations:
1. Personnel parties. They originate even in the period of the emergence of democracy, when the right to vote was not available to everyone. They expressed the interests of the bourgeoisie exclusively and sought to unite as many political elites as possible, rather than expand their ranks due to the number of members of the faction. According to the territorial principle, cadre parties create committees. Each committee has a permanent group of activists with experience working with the public. Their main role is the conduct of the election campaign and its organization. They are also engaged in the selection of candidates for participation in the elections. Between themselves committees, as a rule, are not connected. In parties of this type there is no registration, membership system, systematic payment of membership dues. This fact allowed M. Duverger to call them personnel. These are, for the most part, the conservative and liberal associations of Europe.
2. Mass batches. They appear along with permission to all citizens to take part in the elections. The main orientation of such parties is the education of the masses, the formation of the elite from its environment. They can be organized both on a territorial basis and on a production basis. Mass parties, unlike cadre parties, are always open to new members, interested in their appearance. This is due to the existence of such organizations through the ongoing contributions of their members. The need to deal with monetary issues has led to the emergence of a complex hierarchical structure within this association. To strengthen the unity of the organization, a party system is introduced.
Mass associations, in addition, are divided into three types:
- communist;
- socialist;
- fascist.
Mass and cadre parties correspond to the left ("proletarian") and the right ("bourgeois"). Fascist organizations are an exception, because, being massive, they have a right bias.
Also the division into mass and personnel corresponds to the division into parties having a weak and strong organization. Personnel associations are decentralized. This allows them to be assigned to poorly organized groups. In them, central bodies are not the authority for independent committees.
In mass associations, a strong organization and a centralized character are evident.
Gradual and at the same time constant social changes in developed countries led to the fact that the classification of political parties proposed by M. Duverger was more than once improved, supplemented and corrected. But nevertheless, the main division according to ideology and goals remains the same.
