Washminster

Washminster
Washminster

Monday 3 December 2007

Political Parties

Love them or loath them, political parties - whether as election organisations or as groups within the legislature - are important in a representative democracy. Party funding is one of the major topics of discussion at the moment within the UK - see for example(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7122393.stm and its many links. In the United States 'campaign finance reform' is also a controversial issue.

The role of parties within a legislature has long attracted academic interest. Steven S Smith has published a very interesting book this year called "Party Influence in Congress". It's a very useful guide to a number of explanations for party behaviour, and I found it to be a thought provoking read

Further details can be found at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Party-Influence-Congress-Steven-Smith/dp/0521703875/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196669764&sr=8-1