Already in ancient times (in Greece and Rome), there were peculiar political formations – parties that defended the interests of certain groups of society or were temporarily created to support individuals.
Similar groups emerged during the European Middle Ages. For example, the struggle between the parties of “black” (noble feudal lords) and “white” (rich citizens) in Florence in the eleventh century is well known.
The US War of Independence, the French Revolution (1789) and the political events in Europe that followed made political parties an important component of public life, and political parties gradually acquired clear organizational features, associating themselves with one or another ideological and political direction. During the bourgeois revolutions in Europe, prototypes of modern political parties emerged.
In England, political groups of the nobility competed – the Tories (supporters of the monarchy, the privileges of the state church) and the Whigs (supporters of the supremacy of parliament). These aristocratic groups gave rise to the development of modern political parties in Great Britain, which have maintained a certain ideological continuity.
Political parties of the nineteenth century differ from modern ones in their functions, means of organization and activities. Small political parties and associations represented elite clubs. Political parties operated primarily within the parliament, and outside the parliament they were limited to electoral activities.
The development of political parties was facilitated by the growth of the labor movement in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was the labor movement that created the conditions for the development of organizational forms of political parties, forming a type of political party with mass membership, an extensive network of local organizations, periodic congresses, a clear statute and fixed membership fees. By the end of the nineteenth century, mass parties were formed in most Western European countries. The formation of mass parties in other countries of the world took place somewhat later. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, parties emerged in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and in the 1920s – in Turkey and China.
According to M. Weber, political parties have gone through three stages in their development:
- Aristocratic – parties were a kind of clans that rallied around the ruling elite and included the ruler’s highest circle.
- The stage of the political club – under the influence of the complication of the socio-political structure, parties acquire a clearer organization and ideological and political structure, and turn into political clubs.
- The stage of emergence of mass political parties characterized by a large number of members, greater organization and influence among the population.
However, M. Weber points out that only two political parties – the Whigs and the Tories in the UK – have passed all three stages. Most modern political parties were formed immediately as mass parties.
Political parties are one of the most important institutions of the political system of a society. In many respects, political parties determine the nature and direction of the political process, the strategy and tactics of gaining power, and the political stability of society.