Study Questions

1. How do political parties and interest groups differ?

2. Which areas of the country tend to be the most supportive of the Democratic Party? The Republican Party? Why?

3. How do U.S. political parties differ from those in other Western-style democracies?

4. How has the role of political parties changed in recent decades? Discuss the rise and fall of political machines. What is “candidate-centered politics,” and how has it affected the role of political parties?

5. What is the responsible party model? What are the requirements of this model?

6. What is the role of primary elections? What are the different types of primaries?

7. How do interest groups affect the political process? Which type of groups tend to be the most influential and why?