used in a more recent study of a sample of Third World parties: see Randall,
1988):
associations formally organized with the explicit and declared purpose of
acquiring and/or maintaining legal control, either singly or in coalition or
electoral competition with other similar associations, over the personnel
and the policy of the government of an actual or prospective sovereign
state. (1964, p. 2)
It is easier to classify what Third World parties do than provide a defini-
tion that will encompass all manifestations of them. Classification is also
easier than explanation of change in party system and organization, two
issues to be explored later. The main classifications to be used by political
science have been based on functions, ideology and organization. Typologies
have also been formed from a combination of these factors.
The role of political parties
Political parties in developing countries perform a number of roles (Coleman
and Rosberg, 1964; LaPalombara and Weiner, 1966, pp. 400–33; Randall,
1988; Cammack et al., 1993). First, they can in some circumstances endow
regimes with legitimacyby providing ideologies, leadership or opportunities
for political participation, or a combination of all three. By providing a
means of peaceful political succession within a competitive party system
they legitimize the authority of government based on mass participation and
representation (Yanai, 1999). In competitive situations parties permit
a degree of rotation of power among the different élites which they sustain.
Secondly, they can act as a medium for political recruitment, perhaps
simultaneously creating opportunities for upward social mobility. In devel-
oping countries political parties provide the most important civilian route
into a political career. Within certain ideological perspectives parties perform
a different kind of recruitment role. They mobilize people into self-help proj-
ects at the local level in an attempt to supplement government interventions
under conditions of extreme scarcity of resources. Such mobilization is often
associated with the socialization function referred to below as local party
organs attempt to spread the party’s doctrine among the masses.
Thirdly, parties provide opportunities for the formation of coalitionsof pow-
erful political interests to sustain a government. This is what the functionalists
refer to as interest aggregation, a function of parties which is more important
in competitive systems when electoral and legislative majorities have to be
formed by the broadening of political support. Such coalition formation can
136 Understanding Third World Politics