Political organization

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A political organization is any entity that is involved in the political process.

Political organization including political institution, political parties, political groups- e.g. advocacy groups, Interest groups etc. . Political organizations are engaged in political activities aimed at achieving clearly defined political goals, which improve political system, benefit the interests of their members- e.g., members organizing, campaign, labor unions, etc.

While parties are one type of political organization that enlisted with election authority & engage in some or all of those activities, they are distinct in that they typically focus on supporting candidates for public office, winning elections and forming government.

Political parties

The most well known type of political organization is the political party. Political parties are directly involved in the political processes of countries with party systems, of which there are several types.

Some of the most common types are democratic multi-party systems, single party dictatorships, and US-style two party systems.

Democratic systems

In democratic multi-party systems such as India, there is no restriction on the amount of parties allowed to be in operation at any given time. Under these types of systems, people are free to participate in the political process both through elections and by forming their own political parties as they please.

A fundamental flaw in this system is that it leads to a surplus of political parties resulting in a disorganised political atmosphere. However, the democratic system entails the freedom for political organizations to develop into political parties, which acts as a counterweight against corruption. An example of a political organization which exercised this freedom is the AAP, which evolved from a simple anti-corruption advocacy group into a proper political party in protest against the dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress in India.

In democratic systems, political parties essentially represent the motives and agenda of its founders and corporate sponsors.

Major examples of multi-party systems are:

Single-party systems

Under single-party systems, a single political party exercises absolute control over the government. Unlike under other systems, single-party systems do not necessarily extend democratic privileges to the citizens. This means that citizens have very little say regarding political subjects.

Major examples of single-party systems are:

Two-party systems

Two-party systems are similar to multiparty systems in that power is not concentrated in one party and that parties have to consider the opinion of the general public in order to retain power by winning elections. However, two-party systems restrict the people's democratic rights by not authorizing the citizen's to found their own political parties.

Most two-party systems are technically multiparty systems but all power is effectively concentrated amongst two parties or coalitions.

Example of two-party systems is:

United States

Party coalitions

Another type of political organization is the party coalition. A party coalition is a group of political parties operating together in parliament. Oftentimes, party coalitions are formed after elections have taken place and no party has clearly won a majority seat in parliament (e.g. the AAP-Congress Government in Delhi). Other coalitions are formed prior to elections and are effectively agreements between two or more parties to run jointly in elections and to pursue similar agendas (e.g. the National Democratic Alliance in India, and the Liberal/National Coalition in Australia).

Labor unions

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A labor union (or trade union) is a political organization formed in order to ensure the rights of workers.

Labor unions have several important roles in modern politics, including:

Organizing strikes and Mass strikes
Negotiating with employers on behalf of workers
Ensuring that workers aren't fired without severance pay
Assuring that workers receive reasonable salaries

Unlike other political organizations, labor unions don't participate in elections although they may lobby on behalf of parties supporting their positions. Labor unionization is essentially a simple way for workers to maintain unity and preserve their rights. Often, major corporations antagonise the principle of labor unionization since it results in heavier employment regulations which restrict the powers of big business to fire workers at will, effectively causing economic difficulties for such companies.