Is there any invisible force at play in ensuring that most democratic systems have exactly TWO large parties?

Question

I've often wondered about this. It is true for all democratic set-ups in the world, at least as of now. Two major political parties dominate something like 70-80% of vote share and usually alternate to form power. The chances of a third front, when it rises suddenly is diminshed. France had a leader called Le Pen who had his peak of success in 2004 and then started "diminishing" again.

US: Democrat and Republican
UK: Labour and Conservative
Japan: Liberal Democratic and Democratic Party

What is the difference between these "democracies" (which are more of two opposing clouts) and a single-party dominated electorate such as China and Russia.

What are the specific advantages to a citizen in say, Japan over a citizen in Russia. The former has only TWO alternatives - the latter has only ONE alternative. Does that make any real difference?

Only technical answers desired please. Please write intelligent. Thanks.

Answer 1

How the government is elected decides how many parties will have power. For example, the US and the UK are pretty similiar in their government structure, so that's how you get those two parties in power. More specifically, the fact that you have to get a majority of the votes to win, over 50%, it automatically makes it so there can only be two viable candidates. The electoral system is also set up in a way that reinforces this: you have to get 270 electoral votes out of the 538, which is more than 50%, once again. If there were to be more than two viable parties, no one could win the initial race, and then there would have to be a run off election to vote between the two top vote getters.

It doesn't have to be this way in a democracy by ANY means. Germany is a prime example of this and how it has a multiparty system. The ballot gives a list of parties, and you can choose a certain number out of those which ones you like, not just one. The number of seats awarded to a party depends on the percentage they got in the votes.

Israel is also a good example of multiparty systems, in which their government elects so many different parties that they have to end up coming together to form coalitions just to get things passed and get things done in their government.

The downside to multiparty systems is that you still end up having two parties that pretty much dominate the legislature, but the upside is that they HAVE to listen to the smaller parties in order to appease and get their votes on issues. So bills are shaped a little differently because these smaller parties do get a little say in the process.

Answer 2

I can only answer for the U.S, sorry. You are free to compare to the others as you wish - the majority of citizens here do not vote. Our history HAD other forces, the Tori's, the Whig's, the bull-moose, and others. As the general political climate shifts right or left, the third party lying in wait gains power until it becomes more mainstream. To our right, currently, is the Constitutionalist party, and to the left is the Green party. The power is distributed through corruption and alliances, just like a gunless war - but with less ethical considerations. People form groups, which choose a side, and pretend to voice the opinion and power of the individual.
To sum, the biggest difference between two parties and one party is that power flows more evenly between larger and more diverse groups of people, rather than one group, where the power cannot be divided as evenly. Favors cannot be traded, as it were. Individualists like myself are not happy with either system, and have our own power diminished by holding on to our ethical boundaries and not trading favors. I blog about this at spinornospin.blogspot.com. (full disclosure - I am not paid to blog, but the ad is sponsored. U.S. issues only are discussed.) I hope this clear up the U.S. situation, at least. Sorry about my ignorance otherwise.

Answer 3

The last attempt to start a new major political party in UK was the formation of the Social Democrats ultimately it merged with the Liberal Party and became The Liberal Democrat Party and by and la live on the hope of a hung Parliament so that they can form a coalition

Answer 4

Yes.
Combined with the constitutional position of the president, the USA’s 2 party system tends to “promote governmental stability” because a single party can win a majority.

Multiple parties, in the US congress for example, would not have enough power without some sort of coalition.
Many parties would eventually evolve into 2.

Answer 5

Israel is democratic, and has a coalition system. So does India.... and Britain and Canada are not always the same two parties on top.

But both the two-party-dominant and the one-party-dominant are just as bad -- both defeat the true purpose of democracy which is to allow the voters free choice in how their govt is run

Answer 6

I think most political systems become dominated by two parties simply because large parties can actually encompass a wide range of views. This means that smaller groups are often swallowed up. Also political choices mainly come down to Right /Left (or conservative /liberal, or reactionary /progressive, or whatever you want to call them) so it becomes a straight choice.

Answer 7

Considering that one party or another is in power, there HAS to be an official opposition to keep the majority party in check. In parliamentary systems, there are numerous parties, but they tend to form coalitions based on their similarities. Granted, they still campaign for their own individual party, but when there is no clear majority, blocs are necessary to advance a shared agenda.

Answer 8

US is a Republic, not a Democratic Society. The Libertarian Party ensures they won't be in power everytime they open their mouth.

Germany has about 6 strong parties.

Answer 9

That's insane, the system doesn't work without at least 2 parties. It's not some invisible force it's right in front of you.

Answer 10

technically there is only one party in every democracy, because they try to appease everyone. I think it is time for a totally different, real second party!