Multiparty System in Colombia - Essay Example

RESEARCH PAPER MULTIPARTY SYSTEM IN COLOMBIA; AN IRONIC TWIST TO DEMOCRACY By: Andres Penuela 6000622 Latin American Politics – 438 Dr. Jean-FrançoisMayer CONCORDIA UNITVERSITY March 2015 Introduction Political domain of the world has emerged with significant transformations in the recent years in various nations of the world. It will be crucial to mention that political development of any particular nation directly influences the growth and development of the same at large in the long run. Politics is one of the most important aspects that are widely prevalent in nations worldwide. It is a particular approach that is being adopted by individuals or a group of individuals in a comprehensive manner altogether. It is often regarded as a particular theory that is being used with the intention to influence other negatively or positively. It also involves the distribution of power as well as resources in the most efficient manner at large for greater effectiveness. It will be crucial if politics or the approaches involved in it differ on the basis of nations and its various regions. The nation of Colombia follows diversified a governance approach, which will be crucial to obtain a comprehensive understanding. In this particular research study, focus has been levied on comprehending the prospect of multiparty system in Colombia. To what extent does multiparty system’s existence affect and contribute to political issues such as democracy and political violence in Colombia? The article intends to determine the impact of the transformations of multiparty system to democracy with a specific focus on Colombia. The main argument is that the multiparty system has aided in the development and growth of democracy in Colombia but it has also resulted into political instability marked by violence and deteriorating democracy. The political change that has been witnessed in Colombia with the transformation from a two party state to a multiparty state has yielded differences with regard to the democracy of the nation at large. It has been observed there are various prevailing studies that are centered towards understanding the relationship amid multiparty state with regard to the general political changes occurring. However, this particular research paper levies considerable attention on determining as well as analyzing the relationship between multiparty system and democracy of the nation i.e. Colombia. In addition to the same, the research study will also focus upon comprehending assumption that multiparty system certainly has negative influence on the democratic structure of a particular nation with due regard to the one, prevailing in Colombia1. Notably, though Colombia has remained relatively silent on global or interstate political rivalry, the trend of the internal affairs of the nation is quite rough indeed.2 3 4. Research Background It is apparent that the prevalence and sustainability of the concept of democracy is heavily dependent on the existence of more than one party to provide multiple options for the voters to choose. In this regard, it is important to note that the success of a political structure is largely dependent on how sector has been structured by the concerned authorities5. Notably, the role and importance of a multi-party system is quite prevalent in this context6. Contextually, it can be determined that the initiation of a multiparty system involves certain stern complexities and risks, which could not be ignored7. These issues will be among the prime focus that would be intended to explore in this particular proposed research study. The multiparty system in Colombia was meant to bring sanity to the violent political climate. However, upon practice, multiparty system has ensured challenges for the political domain of the nation, which has one way or the other, lead to threaten the democratic structure of the nation. Colombia’s political discourse is a widely encompassing subject. Democracy In the contemporary political system, democracy is often regarded as one of the widespread government practices i.e. followed in various nations of the world. In order to get a better understanding in this context, various secondary literatures, journals and articles can be taken into consideration for evaluation. It has been noted that different countries, practices or adheres to diverse range of political system, which in one way or the other determines the global positioning of the nation. In this regard, the study of Barber (2003) depicted that democracy is a particular structure of political system that is being practiced with maximum involvement of people of the nation. Notably, the study affirmed democracy as a particular governmental structure where power directly or indirectly lies in the hands of the people. In this regard, it can also be depicted that in general, democracy refers to the governmental system where power to select and elect a particular leader or a group lies in the hands of people uniformly8. In similar regard, the study of Cohen (2009) depicted that democracy is a particular system of government that has been established with the help of free elections through leveraging as well as practicing the voting rights of the people of the nation. Democratic form of government is raised heavily as one of the most widely practiced political structure in the present day scenario. This is largely owing to the uniformity that is prevalent in the same, where people can be able to participate extensively within the political domain of the nation9. Political Multiparty System Similar to that of democracy, a multiparty system is also a widely prevalent political structure that is being practiced in the present day scenario. As per the viewpoint of Throup & Hornsby (1998), it is a particular political structure prevailing globally, which has large number of political parties working and operating under one nation. It is also seen as a political system prevailing within a particular nation, which has more than one political party controlling the overall politics of a nation. It has been learnt from the study of Throup & Hornsby (1998) that in such structure of politics, different political parties place their bid during election to hold the upper hand over the administrative offices of the government at large10. Extending more on this particular aspect the study of Herrnson & Green (2002) affirmed that various small parties aligning together to operate effectively is also an important part of the multiparty political system prevailing in the modern day scenario. It would be crucial to mention that one of the most vital characteristics of such political party system includes the level of competitiveness associated with the same. Since, there is large number of political battle for the topmost governmental office, the existence of immense competition is quite apparent indeed. It would be crucial to depict that such political structure are quite efficient in nature, owing to the aspect that it pressurizes political parties to work with utmost effectiveness since a large number of parties is operating in one common sector. This aspect in one way or the other is beneficial for the people and the society altogether11. It has been learnt from analysis of secondary sources that multiparty systems have been quite beneficial in various nations of the world; at the same time its misplacement in the democracy of Colombia is quite an exception indeed12. Correspondingly, it has become quite crucial to emerge with ideas and strategies that can work towards the development of the concept of multiparty system and likewise ensure sustainability of the concept in an emphatic manner altogether. In this context, understanding the probable effects of multiparty system would be quite crucial to take into consideration.13 This aspect is in line with the increased concentration of recent studies that have emphasized on the need for consolidation of democracy14. Correspondingly, this particular research study focused on understanding the transformation of multiparty system in Colombia, which is seen as a step to strengthen the democracy of the nation in a considerable manner15. Colombia’s position of transitioning from a two party system to a multiparty system puts it at an appropriate position to determine effects of multiparty system on democracy. The literature review on several literature works found is appropriate in carrying out the research on the implications of multiparty on democracy16 17. Contextually, the review of literature will levy focus on comprehending the potential effect of multiparty system on the democratic stability of Colombia. Political History of Colombia Colombia is one of the growing nations of the world in terms of economy and politics. The South American nation, though small in terms of size and area, has a diversified culture within the society along with rich ethnic culture. The country attained its independence in the year 1886 after its triumph in the civil war during the same year. From this particular period, the country got the title of being called as the Republic of Colombia. The country has established a democratic governmental structure in the year 1991 with three different branches including the executive branch, the legislative branch along with the judicial branch of the nation among others. As per the article of San Jose State University (2015), the political system of the nation has witnessed significant transformations over the years. In between the mid-19th and the late 20th century, the country has experienced politics mainly in between Liberal and Conservative Parties. Within the conservative political system, the nation has seeked to ensure a major role of the church within the political domain of the nation. Correspondingly, Liberalism usually refers to the role of the people within the society towards attaining the desired political goals of the nation at large. It can be depicted from the study that both the Liberal party as well as the Conservative party operated within the political domain of the nation and has experienced significant transformations in these structures owing to the change in the overall social as well as political structure of the same at large18. In similar regard, it has also been comprehended that a large part of the past political structure of the nation i.er. Colombia has been ruled by a two party system, which included the political authorities of Liberal Party and Conservative party. Simon Bolívar became the first president of independent Colombia in the late 20th century. It has also been learnt from the analysis of the secondary source that violence has been one of the integral parts of politics of Colombia over the years of its political history. This can be comprehended from the assassination of few of the presidential candidate during the election campaign in the year 1990. It is believed that the Church and the state collaborate to operate within the political domain of the nation. In course of time amid major events, political stability has been attained by Colombia19. Multiparty System in Colombia Multiparty system, as depicted earlier, is the prevalence of various parties within the political domain of any particular nation. As per the viewpoint of Mainwaring (1990), a multiparty system is one of the most popular forms of political structures that are being followed in the present day scenario. Different nations of the world are involved with the practice of this particular political structure within their governmental operations. The study of Mainwaring (1990) debated on the fact that the political stability as well as effectiveness of any particular nation deems to change on the basis of the political structure that is being adhered. It is notable that diverse range of impact prevails for by party system, multiparty system or a democratic structure for the politics of any particular nation at large. As per the study of Mainwaring (1990), Colombia is widely known for its presidential systems within the political domain of the nation. However, this has experienced a significant change post 1990. Though the power remained with the president of the nation to make most of the political and social decisions, the prevalence of a large number of political parties has indeed paved the way for considerable changes. The study of Mainwaring (1990) continued to explain that a two party system that prevailed long time back in Colombia was more effective when compared to the multiparty system especially with regard to the complexity of the overall political domain of the nation. The two party systems are deemed to be more favorable within the democratic structure of the nation i.e. Colombia when compared to the multiparty system at large, since the latter tends to be unstable20. Extending more on this particular discussion, the study of Moreno (2005) can also be taken into consideration. The study affirmed that the political system of the nation has experienced dramatic changes over the years especially with regard to its structure and context. There has been a considerable change depicted in the registrations laws of the nation i.e. Colombia, which further relates with the success ratio of the third parties within the political domain of the country. Owing to the change in laws or reforms in this particular sector, the concerned authorities within the political sector have enabled scope of participation of multiple political parties. Though this particular approach of the concerned authorities enhanced the level of competitiveness of the political sector of Colombia but at the same time, it has also ensured maximum complexity in the same. However, in course of time it has been witnessed that the prevalence of multiparty system within the nation has certainly been less effective owing to the lack of attainment of the desired results. The study has focused on the aspect that the two party systems prevailing in the past in Colombia was quite effective in terms of political performance of the nation, which is again a rare stand as most of the nation fail to get better results by adhering to this particular political structure. The efficiency and effectiveness of Liberal and Conservative parties within the political domain of the nation has one way or the other advocated the elimination of any third party. Moreno (2005) affirmed that significant changes have been seen in the political structure of the nations with the involvement of large number of parties. These political parties include both new as well as non-traditional parties. This can also be justified by the figures presented in this context. Notably, Moreno (2005) depicted that there were only 11% small parties involved in the political domain of Colombia operating in 1986, which further increased to 31% in the year 199121. This aspect further depicts the extent of change in the political party structure of the nation. Investigating the Effect of Multiparty System on the Political Domain of Colombia As discussed earlier, the two party systems prevailing in Colombia was quite effective over a long period within the political domain of the nation. Correspondingly, with the initiation of multi-party system in the nation, significant changes have been seen within the overall political stability of the country. In this context, the study of Schleiter (n.d.) can be taken into consideration. The study has highlighted the fact that Colombia is the nation of the world that has a highly fragmented political structure since it has an electorate party percent of 11, which is comparably on the higher side. However, the study depicted the belief that the prevalence of large number of political parties impact the electorate control in a negative manner, since the voters within the democracy might get confused with regard to wide range of information available. This aspect might also affect the overall voting system of the democracy of Colombia, which is again a potential restriction to the growth of the democracy at large22. The study of Picker (2013) depicted about the prevailing violence in the politics of Colombia. As per the viewpoint of the author, violence was widespread within the politics of Colombia especially during the period of 1946 to 1966. There were numerous contributory factors for violence in Colombia, with politics being the most prominent among them. The conflicts prevailing within the large number of political parties in Colombia has also paved the way for violence in this part of the world23. Extending more on this particular aspect, the work of International IDEA (n.d.) can also be taken into account. Notably, violence and corruption that prevailed within the political structure of the country has contributed significantly towards the democracy of the nation i.e. Columbia. Democracy has significantly embedded within the democratic structure of Columbia and other Latin countries over the years. However, with the intention to strengthen the democracy of the nations, the government has emerged with the approaches of including more and more parties within the political structure of Colombia. This has in turn resulted in increasing complexity of the political structure of the nation at large24. It has been learnt in this regard that the formation of large number of parties in the political structure of the country has further contributed towards increasing the fragmentation of the country’s politics. This owed to the fact that the prevalence of considerable number of parties was quite difficult to manage. Failure of the new political system of the nation, add to the responsiveness of the overall political domain of Columbia, which has further contributed towards extreme level of political fragmentation at large. These aspects further depicts the impact of multi-party system in Colombia in a noteworthy manner altogether. Analysis From the data gathered from various secondary sources such as journals, literature and research articles, several key facts relevant to the study can be analyzed and evaluated in a comprehensive manner. It has been noted that the domain of politics has seen significant transformation over the years owing to the change in the structure and the global world altogether. This aspect is also widely prevalent in the political operations of Colombia. The country has stated with a by party system during the 1850s when the country attained its independence. In this context, it can be affirmed from the analysis that the country, especially with regard to its political operational performance has experienced immense success further enabling the same to get a sustainable positioning globally. However, owing to the prevalence of various noteworthy factors the democratic structure of the country has hampered significantly. Some of the factors that have affected the political structure and framework of the country include the prevalence of violence, corruption and other issues at large. This can be justified from the fact that many of the past presidential candidates were killed in Colombia during the election campaigning. Owing to this factor and various other, measures has been taken by the government of the nation to emerge with a multi-party system where different political organization can contest for the election within the democratic political structure of the country. Correspondingly, the political structure of the country has transformed from a two party system to a multi-party system. In the present day scenario, the political domain of the country has seen an increase of 31% in the number of political parties operating in this particular region. However, in course of time it has been comprehended that the political or democratic structure of the country has been impacted negatively from the political development from two parties to multi-party system. It is widely believed in the considered sources that the two party systems were quite effective in the democratic structure of the nation when compared to the newly adopted multi-party system. It has been learnt regarding the various problems that have been triggered from the transformation that has taken place in Colombia. Fragmentation of the political structure of the country is one of the negative effects of the multi-party system that has been depicted from the literature study. With the addition of a multi-party system, the political structure of the nation has deteriorated severely further making the entire process to be quite difficult. Fragmentation of the political structure of the nation has further worked towards augmenting confusion of the voters of the nation. All this factors affected the democracy of the country in a negative manner altogether. This aspect has further helped in answering the research question, which seemed to identify and evaluate the impact of multiparty system and democracy of Colombia over the last few decades. Conclusion From the overall analysis of the paper several key information relevant to the research topic acquired from secondary sources can be compiled together to get a comprehensive conclusion with regard to the research objectives. It has been learnt from the analysis of the findings that the political structure of the nation has changed immensely owing to change in the political structure of the country in the recent years. It is quite evident from the research that the country follows a democratic structure, where the president secures the highest hierarchy. Though the political structure of the country of by-party system was quite successful as it yielded positive result, there was still the prevalence of certain issues that has threatened the existence of democracy within the nation at large. This aspect can further be justified with the prevalence of violence, corruption and others within the political domain of Colombia. In order to deal with these issues, the authorities within the sector has decided to work upon the political structure and enabled the initiation of a multiparty system. The governance of Columbia will have a great impact on the progress of the nation along with its stability in the long run. However, owing to complexity and fragmentation, the initiative of the government of the nation has failed to deliver results in accordance to the desire. Hence, it can be concluded that the prevalence of potential issues is quite apparent. References Bouvier, Virginia Marie. Civil Society Under Siege in Colombia. 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