3/9 Monday & 3/10 Tuesday: 5.3 Political Parties

Lesson 5.3: Political Parties

Enduring Understanding:

Political parties, interest groups, and social movements provide opportunities for participation and influence how people relate to government and policy-makers.

Learning Objectives:

Describe linkage institutions.

Explain the function and impact of political parties on the electorate and government.

Essential Knowledge:

Linkage institutions are channels that allow individuals to communicate their preferences to policy-makers: 

• Parties 
• Interest groups 
• Elections 
• Media

The functions and impact of political parties on the electorate and government are represented by:

• Mobilization and education of voters 
• Party platforms  
• Candidate recruitment 
• Campaign management, including fundraising and media strategy 
• The committee and party leadership systems in legislatures

Debrief 5.2: Unit One Review: Federalism

Activity #1: TIP-C: 

Activity #2: The Structure and Function of Political Parties Mini-Lecture

Activity #3: The Decline of Parties

Read one or both of the articles below to help understand some of the causes for the decline of parties over the last half century.

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0202-goldberg-party-paper-tigers-20160202-column.html

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/11/modern-political-parties-weak-and-ineffective/

After you have finished reading, describe in your notebook how each of the following contributed to to this decline:

1. The role of the media
2. The rise of interest groups
3. Political reforms like primaries and the Australian ballot
4. Money and candidate-centered campaigns

However, not everyone believes the rise of independent voters and the decline of political parties is real. Read this article and summarize the author's argument.