You may receive an invitation on your mobile phone or by email to attend a political seminar in the area where you live, organized by a particular political party. Some of these questions may then come to mind: What are political parties? What is the purpose of the kinds of activities they organize? What are the essential elements that must be present for an entity to be called a political party? What are their functions? What are their advantages and disadvantages? How are they related to other community organizations? How does one join these parties? What benefits can an individual gain by joining such party organizations? And what might they lose by not joining any party? The following pages provide simple answers to these questions, so you can form a basic understanding of the topic. The concept of a political party: In fact, scholars and thinkers have not agreed on a single definition of a political party—so much so that it is impossible to count all the definitions that have been offered. Here, however, we will present some important definitions. For example, George Washington and James Madison defined a political party as “a group driven and motivated by shared interests or passions that conflict with the rights of other citizens or with the interests of society as a whole.” In contrast, Edmund Burke defined a party as “a group of individuals united in pursuing the national interest on the basis of certain principles and ideas upon which they have agreed.” Thus, while the first definition sees a party as acting against society’s public interest, the second says that a party seeks, through its members, to achieve society’s public interest. This reflects the breadth and diversity of the concept of a political party, which has sometimes led to disagreement among thinkers. To avoid this contradiction, Giovanni Sartori offered a neutral definition that does not address a party’s conduct after it comes to power, or whether it acts for or against the public interest. He stated: “A party is a political group that works to win seats of power for its candidates.” Although scholars and legal experts differ on a single legal definition of a party, they agree on its main elements, which are as follows:

1. A group of citizens (members), whether few or many. A large membership is a source of strength for a party, especially since parties seek power through elections; therefore, the larger the number of members, the greater the party’s chances of winning. Membership in a party should be voluntary, not forced.
2. The existence of an organizational framework for the party that defines its horizontal and vertical relationships and clarifies duties and responsibilities. The larger the party and the more numerous its tasks, the more complex its organizational structure must be in order to perform its required functions more effectively.

3. A program that outlines the party’s goals and vision on different issues. This program is the platform the party presents to voters, who may choose to vote for it or not based on it. Parties generally seek to understand the public’s concerns, problems, and aspirations, then formulate them into a party program. 4. Seeking to gain power and remain in it for as long as possible. A party must declare this openly; any group that claims it has no interest in power is not a political party—it may instead be a charitable association or something similar. (B) Functions of Political Parties: Political parties play a key role in democratic systems, the peaceful transfer of power, political awareness, and the formation of public opinion. They are essential for expressing the interests of different groups in society. Their functions can be summarized as follows:^:-

1. Political parties are among the most important sources of political leadership, as parties that win elections put forward suitable individuals to fill political positions.
2. They serve as schools for learning democracy, training in public service, and fostering a spirit of consensus and tolerance among members.
3. Political parties work to develop political awareness among their members and the public at large through political meetings, speeches, newspaper articles, and radio and television programs, among other means.
4. Political parties express public interests and shared concerns, translating them into proposals presented to the governing authorities.
5. They help transform citizens from passivity to active engagement, making them more connected to the political system and more involved in political decision-making in their country.
6. They can monitor the government’s actions and ensure that they serve the national interest.
7. Political parties play a leading role in uniting the people around certain goals and mobilizing their efforts to achieve them.
8. Political parties play an important role in political socialization and in promoting national values among members of society.

However, political parties may sometimes play negative roles in their society, including the following: 1. Putting narrow party interests ahead of the national interest: Although parties claim that they work to achieve the public interest and were originally established to serve the people and fulfill their interests, in reality many political parties do not always adhere to this. Sometimes they act against this principle and work hard to advance the interests of the party and its members, even when those interests conflict with the public good. This has led some people to view political parties as sources of destruction for a country and its interests, because they are efficient, organized entities that may operate in ways harmful to the country. The more effective they are, the worse their impact on the country can be. 2. Misleading public opinion: In their rivalry with one another or with the governing authorities, parties may not be careful to present the public with the facts. Instead, they may frame matters in ways that serve their own interests, clear themselves of blame, and portray themselves as protectors of the public’s interests and defenders of its rights, even when this is not actually the case. At the same time, they may plot against one another, level accusations at their opponents, and downplay the government’s achievements when they are in opposition. They may stir up emotions and incite the masses, and such conduct can potentially threaten a country’s political stability. 3. Ties to foreign states and entities: Some parties are connected to foreign entities through ideology, beliefs, politics, or economics. As a result, they may act under the influence of those foreign entities in ways that sometimes conflict with the interests of the nation. Some parties are also funded by outside bodies—governments, political parties, or intelligence agencies. Accepting foreign funding is undoubtedly one of the main avenues for foreign interference in a country’s affairs. 4. Dividing society: This is one of the most important arguments historically and currently raised against political parties. Those who do not believe in democracy have accused political parties of being a source of fragmentation and division in society. Although this view has largely declined for many reasons, intense polarization between parties can negatively affect their grassroots supporters, ultimately leading to division and fragmentation within the society concerned. In any case, political life has become highly complex, making it difficult to organize without political parties or associations. As a result, the party phenomenon has become a feature of modern political systems.  (C) The Political Effectiveness of Parties: It refers to the ability to perform effectively and exert influence in the political arena. However, this ability is not a single, indivisible whole; it can be divided into several elements of strength. The more of these elements a party possesses, the closer it comes to political effectiveness; the more it lacks them, the further it is from effectiveness. These elements can be summarized as follows: 1. Organizational structure: Organization, as is well known, is a fundamental pillar of a political party; the party’s survival and existence depend on it. It is not possible to speak of a party without an organizational structure that clarifies horizontal and vertical relationships and defines duties and organizational powers within the party. Organizational structures differ from one party to another according to each party’s circumstances. Generally, the larger and more active a party is, the more complex its organizational structure becomes. The smaller and less active a party is, the simpler its structure tends to be. Although every party has an organizational structure, it reflects the degree of institutionalization within that party. This is because the structure indicates the party’s decision-making mechanisms, unlike personalistic and authoritarian parties in which one person, or a small group, controls decisions and orders. A sound organizational structure is based on a clearly defined hierarchy that is known to members, set out in the party’s constitution, bylaws, and basic regulations, and binding on the party’s different levels. However, non-democratic parties do not have such a recognized hierarchy. Even if one exists in theory, the leadership often bypasses it using weak excuses and justifications to serve its own interests and maintain control. The leadership may also bypass party institutions and organizational structures, despite their existence, because lower-level members do not understand their powers and rights. Leaders can exploit the lack of awareness among the grassroots and mid-level leadership to undermine institutional processes. Organizational structures may sometimes include procedures for advancing political leaders to higher positions. They may also include mechanisms for oversight, accountability, review, and follow-up according to the hierarchy established by the organizational structure. Therefore, organizational structure and vertical and horizontal relationships are among the most important criteria for measuring a party’s political effectiveness. The more cohesive the political organization and the clearer and more defined its internal relationships, the more effective the party is. Conversely, the more fragile and weak its organizational structure is, and the less clearly its vertical and horizontal relationships are defined, the weaker the organization’s effectiveness. 2. Popular support base: The public is the most important element of a political party because it plays the decisive role in whether the party reaches power or not. The public provides the party with moral and material support to achieve its goals. The greater the number of members and supporters, the stronger and more effective the party is considered to be, increasing its chances of attaining and remaining in power. Put simply, a party is a group seeking power, and it cannot reach power without a broad public base that supports it and votes for its candidates. Although votes are counted rather than weighed—meaning that voter quality may seem less important during elections—the political awareness and general educational level of party members and supporters, their willingness to make sacrifices to achieve goals, and their ability to plan are all elements of the party’s popular strength. The grassroots’ understanding of, and belief in, the party’s goals and programs also plays a decisive role in helping it achieve its objectives more easily. Political culture in the society concerned also plays a decisive role in how the grassroots engage with party programs. Gabriel Almond divides political culture into three types: participant political culture, subject political culture, and parochial political culture. Of these, participant political culture makes individuals more active in political affairs, more willing to participate and vote during elections, and more prepared to make sacrifices to achieve goals. There is broad agreement that the degree of political awareness, educational level, political structure, public morale, willingness to make sacrifices, political culture, political experience, and national spirit are all factors that can strengthen or weaken a party’s popular base. It should also be noted that the public becomes more attached to a party, contributes more to it, is more willing to sacrifice for it, and is more committed to its guidance when the party’s goals are legitimate, ethical, meaningful, and important to them. This also makes the party leadership more acceptable to the grassroots, leading to party cohesion and a greater ability to achieve its goals. The more a party adheres to its program and fulfills the promises it makes to the public, the more strongly the public will rally around it. But if the party makes excessive promises and fails to fulfill them, it creates distance between itself and the public. The public then loses trust in it, leading people to abandon it and turn to other parties and political forces. However, in developing countries, where political awareness may be limited, the party program may carry less importance among grassroots supporters, who may vote for a party on other—spiritual or ideological—grounds. The ideal relationship between a party and its grassroots is based on equality and a distribution of roles and responsibilities. The grassroots elect their leaders, monitor and guide them, and may replace them if they fail to carry out the tasks entrusted to them. 3. The party program: A party program is the agreement between a political party and the public—an agreement the party strives to put into practice in people’s lives. It is usually derived from people’s realities, lives, and aspirations. When drafting its program, a party should carefully study people’s needs, concerns, and demands, then formulate them into a program that it adopts. Programs should be reviewed from time to time so they keep pace with developments in society, since changes in reality require changes in the party’s program. A party should not make excessive promises to voters, so that it is not later accused of incapacity or failure to achieve the public’s goals. Rather, it should be realistic and balanced in what it proposes, avoiding both excess and neglect. Parties seek to make their programs comprehensive, covering all aspects of life—economic, social, political, and cultural—and taking into account the interests of different groups so that every individual can find something that reflects their aspirations. A party should also formulate its program in a way that responds to existing problems in society and offers effective solutions. It must present its program in an appealing and attractive form without deceiving or flattering the public, and it should be written in language that is clear, direct, and understandable to ordinary people. 4. Leadership and mechanisms of political succession: It refers to mechanisms for transferring power and leadership from one person to another in a smooth, legal, and legitimate manner, allowing leadership positions to be exchanged and people to replace one another peacefully. Pathways for advancement and departure should be clear and open within party structures, according to agreed criteria and mechanisms set out in the party’s constitution and bylaws. Political succession is one of the most important criteria used to measure democracy and effectiveness in political parties. It indicates the degree of institutionalization within the party, removes any sense that political leaders are beyond challenge, and gives party members equal opportunities for advancement based on their merit, sacrifices, and personal abilities. This leads to fair competition among members for the highest leadership positions in the party. Just as the peaceful transfer of power is widely accepted as a measure of democracy in a political system, the presence of clear mechanisms for political succession in parties indicates the degree of institutionalization and democracy within a political party. Political succession mechanisms are an antidote to sectarianism and the monopolization of leadership positions. Selection should begin through free nomination, with defined terms of office and limits on the number of terms for which a candidate may compete. The issue of political succession is one of the major problems facing both governing political systems and political parties. Political and party leaders have often remained in leadership positions for decades without making room for new leaders. This has led to the stagnation of such systems and parties, creating a state of inertia and despair within them and negatively affecting their overall performance. This has weakened initiative, fostered indifference, and undermined fair competition. It has often led to sharp divisions within political organizations, led by people who were shut out and denied leadership positions because of the continued presence of “historic leaders.” Older leaders have not stopped there; they have also promoted the view that younger leaders are incapable of managing affairs, and that replacing existing leaders would mean losing the experience those leaders have accumulated. They have turned the public against younger leaders seeking advancement within party institutions. 5. Funding: Money is essential to any successful political activity. Political work that lacks funding cannot succeed, no matter how much intellectual effort and political activity is invested in it. Parties need funds to finance their various activities, conduct necessary media and mobilization campaigns, and run election campaigns. They also need money to attract public support by providing services to the public. However, funding problems are among the greatest obstacles facing party activity in general, especially in developing countries. Some parties fail to reach power despite having clear goals and programs because of funding problems, while others lacking vision and strategic thinking may win simply because they have money. Therefore, parties work hard to obtain the funds needed to run their affairs. Yet obtaining money involves many risks and cautions. Foreign entities may offer parties money in exchange for the party advancing their interests once it reaches power. This can make the state’s will dependent on outside forces, because the ruling party becomes tied to foreign entities that may act against the interests of the country and its people. It is therefore necessary to seek sources of funding that do not compromise the country’s sovereignty or independence and do not restrict the actions of an elected government. At the same time, domestic funding sources are often scarce and cover only a small portion of a party’s expenses. Effective parties are therefore those able to find funding for their programs without entering into suspicious relationships with foreign entities. National parties generally rely on their own resources—membership fees, members’ donations, party investments, and so on—to finance their activities while preserving their independence and national character. References:

• Ibrahim Abrash, Political Sociology, Dar Al-Shorouk, 1998.
• Ahmed Zayed, An Introduction to Political Sociology, Nahdet Misr for Printing, Publishing and Distribution, 1st edition, 2006.
• Qahtan Ahmed Suleiman Al-Hamdani, Fundamentals of Political Science, Dar Majdalawi for Publishing and Distribution, Amman, Jordan, 2004.
• A group of professors of economics and political science at Cairo University, *Principles of Political Science*, Cairo, 1992.
• Mohamed Ali Mohamed, Political Sociology, Cairo, undated, p. 221.
• Baha al-Din Makawi Mohammed Qaili, Political Parties and the Future of the Democratic Experience in Sudan, Sudan Center for Strategic Studies and Research, Khartoum, 2009.