Why are political parties so strong in the United Kingdom yet so weak in the United States

Why are political parties so strong in the United Kingdom yet so weak in the United States Introduction The United States and United Kingdom are the largest democracies in the world hence they have variant political parties. A political party in any governing system is defined as an organization of people with similar political aims and opinions who seek to attain political influence in public policies through their representative being elected to the governing body (Medvic, 2009, p.120).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Why are political parties so strong in the United Kingdom yet so weak in the United States? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Political parties are either funded by the government or individual party members depending on a country’s regulations. Irrespective of the fact that both United States and Great Britain have two dominant political parties, two legislative houses and a single executive, the political parties in both nations differ in their strength. The strength of political pa rties is determined by the amount of influence a party has on its members and the cohesion in the party. The political parties in the United States are much weaker than in the United Kingdom. In the US, politics are dominated by two major parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Additionally, there are other smaller and weaker parties in the political scene. In the democracy of United Kingdom, there are three dominat political parties namely the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrat Party currently led by Nick Clegg. However, there are other smaller political parties namely Independence Party and the Green Party. The roles of political parties include voicing the needs and concerns of their members and supporters, recruiting and training candidates for public office and socializing the citizens. This paper defines the significant difference in the strength of political parties in the United States and the United Kingdom. Moreover, it explores the factors that make political parties to be strong or weak in these countries. Political parties in the United States Political parties in the United States were not endorsed in the founding constitutions, since the intention of the Constitution and its founders was to have a triple balanced system of executive, judicial, and congressional powers. Factors that contributed to the establishment of the two-party system in the United States as the key type of system include historical foundations of the system, political socialization and practical considerations, the electoral system and the federal laws.Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, there are no major requirements obligatory from the public in order to become a member of any political party (Schmidt, Shelley, Bardes, 2010, p.154). Scholars have noted that there is a decline in the strength of politic al parties compared with the past. Two party system in the United States The two-party system has dominated the United States political scene for a very long time. This could be one of the contributors to the weakening of smaller political parties in the country. People who wish to serve as president, congressional representative, state governor or state legislators have to use the two main parties, Democratic Party and the Republican Party, to increase their chances of wining. Electoral system The method of electing national and legislative representative promotes the dominance of two-party system. The structure of political parties in the United Kingdom is defined by the individual ideologies supported by each party, which their members endeavor to legislate; however, their counterparts in American lack ideologically cohesive and programmatic. The available resources for these dominant parties allow them to retain their dominance. Similarly, single member system operating in a sma ll constituency can weaken the general party by creating smaller local independent entities (Duverger, 1963, p.45). The involvement of political parties’ leaders in the selection of candidates of their political parties is very low in the United States. On the other hand the leaders of political parties in the UK have the role of choosing which candidates should represent their parties. Moreover, the United States political parties are not involved in campaigning for their chosen candidates therefore resulting to less influence on the candidates. The United Kingdom utilizes a system of proportional representation, where officials are elected, on the bases of the number of votes their parties receive in an election, which promotes strength of parties. In the United States, the election system is focused on the candidates compared to the United Kingdom model where election is party focused (Safran, 2003, p.34). Therefore, parties in the US are not perceived to be as important a s individual candidates. In party centered system, political parties are in charge of all resources while in candidate-centered system, the parties provide just a few resources to the candidates. Moreover, in the US, parties do not have the mandate of choosing the candidates to run under the party, rather, it is done by voters in preliminary voting.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Why are political parties so strong in the United Kingdom yet so weak in the United States? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a result, the influence of parties is limited hence leading to their weakening. In contrast, the United Kingdom political parties determine the candidates to run under their parties based on their set regulation. Since the political parties in the US contribute minimal resources to the campaigning of their candidates, the party has less or minimal influence and cannot sanction the candidate if he wins (Safran, 200 3, p.34). However, the political parties in the United Kingdom have much influence on their candidates and they can sanction them since they contribute most of the resources that the candidates require. The electoral system, through preliminary election of party leaders, favors the linking candidates with their local supporters rather than creating a bond between the candidates and the party (Safran, 2003, p.34). Fundamentally, the electoral system is also weakening the ideologies of the political parties. Generally, direct primaries of selecting candidates have weakened political leaders as it takes away the rights and influence of the party. In the United Kingdom the parties have the obligation of selecting candidates that they wish to field for an election without external influence. Moreover, the party oversees the campaign of its candidates and in return, the party has ultimate control and influence. Campaigning The candidate-centered approach in the US reinforces campaign-fina ncing laws. The inclination of candidates funding most of the campaign is done at the expense of the party’s influence, as is the case in America. On the other hand, in the United Kingdom, parties retain their influence since they fund the campaigns of their candidates. The use of political consultants by political candidates has contribution to the decline of roles of political parties in America where the candidates are more inclined to listening to their consultants than the position of their party. However, consultants weaken the political parties through creating campaign atmosphere where they project individual candidates to the public at the expense of the party. Nevertheless, the public are more informed on candidates’ traits rather than the policies of the candidates’ parties (Best Radcliff, 2005, p.63). Moreover, political parties have failed to innovate, hence the need for outsourcing their duties to consultants. Some modern campaign tactics are weak ening the political parties. In the United Kingdom’s party-centered system, the campaign is geared to selling the party policies to the electorate whereas in America campaigns are focused on the candidates (Swanson Mancini, 1996, p.272).Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Legal factors Legal factors in the United States have contributed to the weakening of political parties (Wilson, 2008, p.124). The policy of cross filling has also undermined the strength of political parties in America. This practice, cross filling, allows individuals to be listed on more than one political party and can participate in primary ballots of all parties where they are registered (Sabato Ernst, 2006, p.88). The candidates who use this strategy aim at reducing competition, thus weakening political parties. This policy is still in effect in some states, which weakness the ideology. Moreover, the use of cross filling in the primaries resulted in reduction of political parties responsibilities. Moreover, voters in primary elections can influence nomination of their opposing party through crossover voting. These kinds of policies limit the influence of political parties on their candidates since they do not have the right to chose or vet candidates in their parties. Moreove r, the external interference in political parties through crossover voting weakens political parties in the US. Contrary to this, political parties in the United Kingdom do not have any interference from supporters of other parties; hence, they retain their objectivity in their core issues. The United States, through federal and state governments, closely regulates and it has decentralized the political parties. These actions of the government have contributed to weakening of political parties in America (Wilson, 2008, p.124). Political Action Committee (PACs) and special interest groups The decline of political parties can also be attributed to the rise of political action committees (PACs) in the elections in particular in fund raising. Candidates in the American political scene have their own PACs, which help them to collect funds for their political activities. Therefore, the candidates are more inclined to their committees than to the party, thus weakening party cohesion (Barde s, Shelley, Schmidt, 2008, p.248). However, political parties in the UK get finance from their membership contribution, donations i.e. from trade unions and the opposition parties also financed from the government kitty. Therefore, parties in UK are generally stronger than parties in US due to better finance availability. Moreover, funding of political parties from public kitty promotes internal unity among party members with in turn promote party cohesion. Subsequently, monies issued to support elections in the United States are given directly to the candidates. However, any money given to candidates tends to weaken the political parties, since the candidate becomes more independent and less reliant of the party. Conversely, public funding of political parties in the UK is channeled through the parties and not the candidates. Therefore, funding promotes part strength since the party leaders have leverage to induce their ideologies. Moreover, parties limit the amount of resources t hat an individual candidate can contribute to their campaign in order to protect the party’s influence. Additionally, political parties in American are influenced by their private donors, hence leading to partisan politics that decrease the strength of the party; however parties in the UK are less likely to be influenced since they do not over-rely on private donors for funding. Since action groups can access public support and resources, they have been undermining political parties that do not support their ideologies hence weakening of parties. Voters The social and political environment, in which the party operates, has a great impact on party cohesion. In addition, the development of an increase of number of independent voters has given rise to weakening of the political parties. Generally, a considerable number of voters in America are not registered in the two main political parties, thus the two key political parties have been declining in recent years. Further, the pa rticipation of voters in direct primaries to determine the candidate to run under a certain party weakens political parties (Sabato Ernst, 2006, p.110). Nevertheless, the political parties have not been able to attract public loyalty due to social changes. Furthermore, there is a trend of voters disengaging from party politics due to disappointments from political parties in the past. This is as a result of the fact that most American political parties are not engaged actively in their citizens’ lives, leading to high number of non-partisans. Conversely, the public in Europe and particularly in the United Kingdom are still inclined to party politics as they join and register in political parties, pay contributions to their parties and participate in party activities i.e. attending meetings (Wilson, 2008, p.125). Moreover, interest groups and citizen groups are competing with political parties for influence and loyalty among the citizens. However, party loyalty has declined s ince the inception of interest groups among the people in the United States. In deed, citizen action groups are actively replacing the role of political parties as a result of their weakening. Conclusion The United States and the UK have some dominant political parties and other smaller parties. Generally, the role of political parties in democracies is to educate the public on their civic rights and duties, to participate in influencing of public policies and recruiting and training candidates for public office. The strength of political parties is determined by the amount of influence a party has on its members and the cohesion in the party. However, there factors that undermine the strength of political parties namely rules and regulations, electoral systems, change of attitude among voters and modern campaigning techniques. Additionally, the rise of Political Action Committees and citizen interest groups has also undermined the strength of political parties especially in America . The United Kingdom has been able to retain the strength in its political parties due to the fact that they are able to control the selection and funding of their candidates. Moreover, the parties have restricted candidates from being independent from the party, hence creating reliance and influence. Through primary election in single-member district system, political parties in America have lost their influence in selection of candidates. Besides, a policy like cross filling of candidates during the direct primaries also contributes to the decline of parties (Shepherd, 2005, p.337). Further, the political parties in America are not funded by the government; rather, the candidates are funded directly. Consequently, this direct funding from the government makes the candidates independent from their parties. However, in the United Kingdom system, the government funds political parties directly, which in turn dispatch funds to their candidates. This mode of funding ensures that politi cal parties maintain their influence over their candidates, hence creating cohesion and party strength. References List Bardes, B., Shelley, M. Schmidt, S., 2008. American Government and Politics Today. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Best, S. Radcliff, B., 2005. Polling America: A-O. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Duverger, M., 1963. Political Parties: Their Organization and Activities in the modern State. London: Taylor Francis. Medvic, S., 2009. Campaigns and elections: players and processes. Boston: Cengage Learning. Sabato, L. Ernst, H., 2006. Encyclopedia of American Political parties and elections. NY: Infobase Publishing. Safran, W., 2003. The Secular and the Sacred Nation: Nation, Religion and Politics. London: Taylor Francis. Schmidt, S., Shelley, M. and Bardes, B., 2010. American Government and Politics Today, 2010-2011. Boston: Cengage Learning. Shepherd, M. 2005. Mastering the National Admissions Test for Law. London: Routledge. Swanson, D. Mancini, P., 1996. Po litics, media, and modern democracy: an international study of innovations in electoral campaigning and their consequences. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Wilson, J. Q., 2008. American Government. OH: Cengage Learning.

Quarry Sites - The Archaeological Study of Ancient Mining

Quarry Sites - The Archaeological Study of Ancient Mining To an archaeologist, a quarry or mine site is where a particular raw material- stone, metal ore, or clay- was mined in the past to be used to make stone tools, to carve blocks for building or statuary, or to make ceramic pots. Significance Some quarries used by ancient people were located near their point of use, regularly visited and fiercely protected from other groups as part of claimed territory. Other quarries, especially those for portable goods such as stone tools, were hundreds of miles away from the point of use, where the stone tools were found. In those cases, the people might have found the quarry on a hunting trip, made tools there and then carried the tools with them for a few months or years. Some high quality materials might also have been traded as part of a long distance exchange network. Artifacts made from far away resources are called exotic compared to local artifacts. Quarry sites are significant because they provide a wealth of information concerning the day-to-day living of people in the past. How well did a particular group understand and use the resources in their neighborhoods? How important was it for them to use high quality materials, and for what? How do we determine what a high quality resource means for an object or building? Questions Posed at Quarries At the quarry site itself, there might be evidence of the technical knowledge a society had about mining, such as the types of tools they used to excavate and shape materials. Quarry sites can also have workshops- some quarries were also production sites, where objects might be partly or completely finished. There might be tool marks on the outcrop showing how the workers pried the material out. There might be spoil heaps and discarded materials, which can illustrate what attributes that made a resource unusable. There might be encampments, where the miners lived while they were working. There might be inscriptions on the outcrops, such as notes about the quality of the material, or prayers to gods for good luck, or graffiti from bored miners. There could also be cart ruts from wheeled vehicles or other evidence of infrastructure suggesting how the material was transported to the point of use. The Challenge of Quarries Quarries are difficult to discover, because sometimes they are hard to see and scattered across the region. Outcrops of a particular source can cover many acres across a wide landscape. An archaeologist could find a stone tool or a pot or a stone structure at an archaeological site, but finding where the raw material to make that object or building came from is difficult, unless there are already quarries for that type of material that have been identified. Potential quarry sources can be found by using bedrock maps of the area, which are produced for the U.S. by the United States Geological Survey, and for the United Kingdom by the British Geological Survey: similar government-backed bureaus can be found for almost any country. Finding an outcrop open to the surface near an archaeological site, and then looking for evidence there that it was mined, can be an effective technique. Evidence could be tool marks, or excavation pits or campsites; but those might be difficult to identify if hundreds or thousands of years have passed since the quarry was used. Once a potential quarry has been identified, the archaeologist submits samples to a laboratory for sourcing, a process that breaks down the chemical or mineral content of a material, using Neutron Activation Analysis, or X-ray Fluorescence or another analytical tool. That provides a greater assurance that the proposed connection between tool and quarry is likely correct. However, quarries can vary in quality and content within a single deposit, and it may be that the chemical make up of the object and the quarry may never be perfectly matched. Some Recent Studies The following are some recent quarry studies, only a fraction of the available research which has been conducted. Wadi Dara (Egypt). This gold and copper mine was used during the Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods (3200–2160 BCE). Evidence includes pit trenches, tools (grooved stone axes and pounding slabs), smelting sites and slags from furnaces; as well as several huts where the miners lived. Described in Klemm and Klemm 2013. Carn Menyn (Preseli Hills, Wales, UK). The unique blend of rhyolites and dolerites at Carn Menyn mine were quarried for the 80 bluestones at Stonehenge, 136 miles (220 km) away. Evidence includes a scattering of broken or abandoned pillars of the same size and proportion as those at Stonehenge, and some hammer stones. The quarry was used before and after Stonehenge was built, between 5000–1000 BCE. See Darvill and Wainright 2014. Rano Raraku and Maunga Puna Pau Quarries (Rapa Nui aka Easter Island). Rano Raraku was the source of the volcanic tuff which was used to sculpt all 1,000 of the Easter Island statues (moai). The quarry faces are visible and several uncompleted statues are still connected to the bedrock. Described in Richards and others . Maunga Puna Pau was the source for the red scoria hats the moai wear, as well as other buildings used by the people of Rapa Nui between 1200–1650 CE. Described in Seager 2014. Rumiqolqa (Peru). Rumiqolqa was a quarry where Inca Enpire (1438–1532 CE) stonemasons excavated andesite for temples and other structures in the capital city of Cusco. Mning operations here entailed the creation of pits and cuts on the quarry landscape. Huge stone blocks were cut by using wedges placed in natural fractures, or by creating a line of holes then using wooden or bronze poles as pry bars, rock hammers and stone and bronze chisels. Some stones were further reduced in size before being dragged along the Inca road to their final destination. Inca temples were made of a variety of materials: granite, diorite, rhyolite, and andesite, and many of those quarries have been found and reported by Dennis Ogburn (2013). Pipestone National Monument (USA). This national monument in southwestern Minnesota was used as a source for catlinite, one of several mines scattered through the midwest that produce a sedimentary and metamorphic rock that was used by Native American communities to manufacture ornaments and pipes. Pipestone NM is known to have been an important religious and quarry site for historic period Native American groups during the 18th and 19th centuries CE. See Wisserman and colleagues (2012) and Emerson and colleagues (2013). Sources Bloxam, Elizabeth. Ancient Quarries in Mind: Pathways to a More Accessible Significance. World Archaeology 43.2 (2011): 149–66. Print.Darvill, Timothy, and Geoffrey Wainwright. Beyond Stonehenge: Carn Menyn Quarry and the Origin and Date of Bluestone Extraction in the Preseli Hills of South-West Wales. Antiquity 88.342:1099–14 (2014). Print.Emerson, Thomas, et al. The Allure of the Exotic: Reexamining the Use of Local and Distant Pipestone Quarries in Ohio Hopewell Pipe Caches. American Antiquity 78.1 (2013): 48–67. Print.Klemm, Rosemarie, and Dietrich Klemm. Gold Production Sites and Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt. Gold and Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt and Nubia. Natural Science in Archaeology: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2013. 51–339. Print.Kloppmann, W., et al. Tracing Medieval and Renaissance Alabaster Works of Art Back to Quarries: A Multi-Isotope (Sr, S, O) Approach. Archaeometry 56.2 (2014): 203–19. Print.Ogburn, Dennis E. Variation in Inca Bui lding Stone Quarry Operations in Peru and Ecuador. Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes. Eds. Tripcevich, Nicholas and Kevin J. Vaughn. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology: Springer New York, 2013. 45–64. Print. Richards, Colin, et al. Road My Body Goes: Re-Creating Ancestors from Stone at the Great Moai Quarry of Rano Raraku, Rapa Nui (Easter Island). World Archaeology 43.2 (2011): 191–210. Print.Seager Thomas, Mike. Stone Use and Avoidance on Easter Island: Red Scoria from the Topknot Quarry at Puna Pau and Other Sources. Archaeology in Oceania 49.2 (2014): 95–109. Print.Summers, Geoffrey D., and Erol Ãâ€"zen. The Hittite Stone and Sculpture Quarry at Karakiz Kasabasi and Hapis Bogazi in the District of Sorgun, Yozgat, Central Anatolia. American Journal of Archaeology 116.3 (2012): 507–19. Print.Tripcevich, Nicholas, Jelmer W. Eerkens, and Tim R. Carpenter. Obsidian Hydration at High Elevation: Archaic Quarrying at the Chivay Source, Southern Peru. Journal of Archaeological Science 39.5 (2012): 1360–67. Print.Uchida, Etsuo, and Ichita Shimoda. Quarries and Transportation Routes of Angkor Monument Sandstone Blocks. Journal of Archaeological Science 40.2 (2013): 1158–64. Print.Wisseman, Sarah U., et al. Refining the Identification of Native American Pipestone Quarries in the Midcontinental United States. Journal of Archaeological Science 39.7 (2012): 2496–505. Print.