International Political Parties and Systems

The United Kingdom:

 

• Legislative-executive system: Parliamentary

• Legislative: Parliament

• Lower House: House of Commons

• Upper House: House of Lords

• Unitary or Federal Division of Power: Unitary

• Main Geographic Subunits: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland

• Electoral System for Lower House: Single-member district with plurality

• Chief Judicial Body: Supreme Court

• Political Parties:

• Liberal Democratic Party: two-and-a-half-party system

• The Labour Party: socialism and advocated a cross-class appeal

• The Conservative Party: leftist

• The Liberal Democrats: mix of classical liberalism’s phasis on both individual freedom and a weak state and social democracy’s emphasis on collective equality.

 

 

Russia:

 

• Legislative-executive system: Semi-presidential

• Legislature: Federal Assembly

• Lower House: State Duma

• Upper House: Federation Council

• Unitary or Federal Division of Power: Federal

• Main Geographic Subunits: Republics, provinces, territories, autonomous districts, federal cities

• Electoral System for Lower House: Proportional Representation

• Electoral System for Upper House: Appointed by Local Executive and Legislature

• Chief Judicial Body: Constitutional Court

• Political Parties:

• Parties of Power: represented the largest segment of parties in the Duma

• Communist and Leftist Parties: social-democratic organizations, yet remains close to its communist ideology and rejects Western capitalism and globalization.

• Nationalist Parties: extreme nationalism

• Liberal Parties: pro-western and pro-market economy

 

 

China:

 

• Legislative-executive system: Communist Party authoritarian regime

• Legislature: Unicameral National People’s Congress (nominal authority only)

• Unitary or Federal Division of Power: Unitary

• Main Geographic Subunits: Provinces

• Electoral System for Lower House: Not applicable

• Chief Judicial Body: Supreme People’s Court (nominal authority only)

• Political Parties:

• The Chinese Communist Party: essential as political influence, Three Represents (workers, peasants, and private entrepreneurs)

• The Succession and Circulation of Elites: no institutionalized ‘vice office’ to ease the transition to a successor when the top leader dies.

 

 

India:

 

• Legislative-executive system: Parliamentary

• Legislature: Parliament

• Lower House: House of the People

• Upper House: Council of States

• Unitary or Federal Division of Power: Federal

• Main Geographic Subunits: States

• Electoral System for Lower House: Single-Member District Plurality

• Electoral System for Upper House: Supreme Court

• Political Parties:

• The Congress Party (INC): ‘secularism’, social reform, and to continue to eliminate caste discrimination. Regionalized multiparty system and coalition governments.

• The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) : Hindu nationalist party, support for secularism, anti-Muslim.

• Parties of the Left (Left Front): collection of communist and other left leaning parties whose popularity for many years seemed unaffected by the declining success of communist parties and countries elsewhere in the world.

• Regional and Other Parties: new rise in power and it depends on the states

 

 

Iran:

 

• Legislative-executive system: Semi-presidential Theocracy

• Legislature: Majilis

• Lower House: Majilis

• Upper House: (none)

• Unitary or Federal Division of Power: Unitary

• Main Geographic Subunits: Ostan (provinces)

• Electoral System for Lower House: Single-member and multi member district majority  

• Chief Judicial Body: Supreme Court

• Political Parties:

 

Mexico:

• Legislative-executive system: Presidential

 

• Legislature: Congreso de la Unión (National Congress)

• Lower House: Cámara de Diputados (Federal Chamber of Deputies)

• Upper House: Camara de Senadores (Senate)

• Unitary or Federal Division of Power: Federal

• Main Geographic Subunits: estados (states)

• Electoral System for Lower House: Mixed single-member district and proportional representation

• Chief Judicial Body: Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (National Supreme Court of Justice)

• Political Parties:

• Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD): Mexico’s left party and advocate more nationalist and protectionist politics. They struggle as a leftist party due to internal fighting and being unable to capture enough voters.

• The Partido Acción Nacional (PAN): Mexico’s right party, has a strong organizational presence, and advocate for states’ rights and opposed the centralization of power. They struggle with internal division and suffer from its geographic concentration of the vote.

• Mexican Green Party (PVEM); opportunistic party, allied with the leftist PRD, and changed its alliance and now runs in an electoral alliance with the PRI.

 

MORENA (National Regeneration Movement): divides Mexico’s left and it helped open the doors for new leadership for PRD members.

 

Nigeria:

• Legislative-executive system: Presidential

 

• Legislature: National Assembly

• Lower House: House of Representatives

• Upper House: Senate  

• Unitary or Federal Division of Power: Federal

• Main Geographic Subunits: States

• Electoral System for Lower House: Single-member district plurality

• Chief Judicial Body: Supreme Court

• Political Parties: based on ethnic identities