Expressing and Focusing Demands for Authoritative Decisions
Jorgen Rasmussen · 2017
The findings about those who participate in politics help to explain why high social and economic status and education should be associated with high political activity. While personal characteristics are quite important in shaping attitudes toward political activity, they are not the only factors which significantly influence political behavior. Among the significant functions performed by political parties in democratic systems are offering candidates for election, debating public policy, coordinating the activity of governmental organs, and stimulating political participation. The relation between the indigenous people and the colonial rulers was rather authoritarian and bureaucratic, a relation of command and obedience rather than of participation. The major channel through which demands for authoritative decisions are expressed and structured or focused are interest groups. The poor development of association groups and parties in transitional systems makes institutional interest groups especially significant channels for expressing demands, although institutional groups are by no means confined to such systems.