Ethnic Parties and

Party System – Donald

L. Horowitz
By Mohd Nuhairi Bin Abd Rahman
S- SM0075/18
Intro.
• The ethnically focused party is the key element which ethnic conflict
brings into party politics.
• An ethnically focused party draws its support from an ethnic group
that is predominantly recognizable and represents that group's
purpose.
• An ethnic party does not have to monitor the allegiance of members
of the group exclusively.
• This is how the support of the party is distributed, and not how the
support of the ethnic group is distributed, that is important.
• The composition of the party structure shall be decided by the
distribution of community support and the distribution of party
support.
The Rationale Of Ethnic Parties And
The Concept Of Party.
• An ethnically divided society conspire to impede the development of
the full range social relations among ethnic group.
• Minimal foundation for ethnic group allegiance, evident to some
degree even in non-deeply divided societies.
• Two sources from ethnic parties :
1. Internal Imperatives – as a community
2. External Imperatives – in relation to other
• Ethnicity offers the promise of stable assistance to elected leaders,
and has a core of powerful supporters.
• Party allegiance may be largely ascriptive.
Ethnic, Multiethnic & Nonethnic
• Party boundaries are more inclusive than group boundaries.
• Political context is more important than the literal meaning of words
in determining the character of parties.
• Multiethnic party for present purpose only if it spans the major
groups in conflicts.
• Nonethnic party not run deep or ethnic group are so dispersed that it
hardly.
• The ethnic basis of support of nonethnic parties is often apparent at
the local level.
The Variety of Party Systems
• Four common party systems, those composed :
1. Ethnic Party
2. Ethnic Parties & Coalitions of ethnic parties
3. Ethnic Parties & Multiethnic parties
4. Multiethnic single parties
• Four system have different properties.
• They are by no means unrelated : one of them can evolve from another.
• Ethnic Party systems often give way to one of the other three party
arrangements.
• Ethnic parties & ethnic party systems are building blocks of party polities in
ethnically divided societies.
The Growth of Ethnic Party Systems.
• The preferences of political leaders in 2 important respects :
1. Ethnic party system can and do emerge contrary to the convictions of the
principal party leaders.
2. Party leaders oriented toward the electoral process, have strong preference
for strategies calculated to produce electoral victory.
• In parties, the victory is determined by their share of votes or seats
relative.