American Government

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at what is considered to be one of the best examples of democracy in the contemporary political system, the American government. The paper discusses various issues of debate regarding the US system of government, such as the two party system.

From the Paper:

"There must be a differentiation between the two types. On the one hand, according to Janda, Berry and Goldman, "a political party is an organization that sponsors candidates for political office under the organization's name. These political parties nominate candidates for election to public office, by designating individuals as official candidates for the party." (Janda, Berry and Goldman 263)At the same time, an interest group is "an organization who share common attitudes and interests and who attempt to influence the decisions made within the political system" (Volkomer 256). The political parties are set in place to nominate candidates, structure the voting choice, proposing alternative government programs and coordinating the actions of government officials (Janda, Berry and Goldman 264-265), thus they have the upper hand concerning legislation; interest groups are either "formed in response to a single political issue or candidate, and thus are active for a short period of time, or they are established to represent the continuous interests of their members." (Volkomer 258) Consequently, the former have the power to decide, while the latter fight for influencing the decisions taken. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Janda, Kenneth, Jeffrey Berry, and Jerry Goldman. The challenge of democracy: government in America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989.
• Jewell Malcolm E., and David M. Olson. American state political parties and elections. Homewoo: The Dorsey Press, 1982.
• Volkomer, Walter E.. American government. New York : Appleton-Century-Crofts,1972.

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