A political organization is any

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

that involves itself in the

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest

advocacy groups Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...

. Political organizations are those engaged in political activities (e.g.,

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

, community organizing,

campaign advertising In politics, campaign advertising is the use of an advertising campaign through the media to influence a political debate, and ultimately, voters. These ads are designed by political consultants and political campaign staff. Many countries re ...

, etc.) aimed at achieving clearly-defined political goals, which typically benefit the interests of their members. While parties are one type of political organization that may engage in some or all of those activities, they are distinct in that they typically focus on supporting

candidates A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

for public office, winning

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

and controlling

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

Political parties

The most well-known type of political organization is the

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

. Political parties are directly involved in the political processes of countries with party systems, of which there are several types. Some of the most common types are multi-party systems, single party dictatorships, and

two party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referr ...

Multi-party systems

In multi-party systems such as India, Pakistan, etc., there is no restriction on the number of parties allowed to be in operation at any given time. Under these types of systems, people are free to participate in the political process both through elections and by forming their own political parties as they please. Examples of multi-party systems are: * * * * * * * * *

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

* *

Single-party systems

In single-party systems, one political party exercises control over the government. Unlike under other systems, single-party systems do not necessarily extend democratic privileges to the citizens. This means that citizens have little say regarding political subjects. Examples of single-party systems are: * * * * *

Two-party systems

Two-party systems are similar to multi-party systems in that power is not concentrated in one party and that parties have to consider the opinion of the general public in order to retain power by winning elections. Most two-party systems are technically multiparty systems but all power is effectively concentrated amongst two parties or coalitions. Examples of two-party systems are: * * * * *

Party coalitions

Another type of political organization is the party coalition. A party coalition is a group of political parties operating together in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. Oftentimes, party coalitions are formed after elections have taken place and no party has clearly won a majority seat in parliament (e.g. the AAP-Congress Government in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

). Other coalitions are formed prior to elections and are effectively agreements between two or more parties to run jointly in elections and to pursue similar agendas (e.g. the National Democratic Alliance in India, and the

Liberal/National Coalition The Liberal–National Coalition, commonly known simply as "the Coalition" or informally as the LNP, is an political alliance, alliance of Centre-right politics, centre-right political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Politic ...

in Australia). The

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

s for multi-party alliances are set differently in many countries depending on the number of parties.

Parliamentary groups or Caucus

Parliamentary groups are groups of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties, also called caucus in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

and the Parliament of Canada.

Technical group

A technical group or mixed group is a heterogenous parliamentary group composed of elected officials from political parties of differing ideologies (or independent of any party) who are not numerous enough to form groups on their own.

Political group

A political group is a group composed of multiple political parties or independents of aligned ideologies.

Labour unions

A labor union (or trade union) is a political organization formed to promote the interests of workers. Labour unions have various roles in modern politics, including: * Organizing strike actions and general strikes * Negotiating with employers on behalf of workers * Ensuring that workers aren't fired without severance pay * Assuring that workers receive reasonable salaries Unlike other political organizations, labor unions do not directly participate in elections, although they may campaign for parties and politicians supporting their positions. Labour unionization is a way for workers to maintain unity and preserve their rights. Often, major corporations antagonize the principle of labor unionization since it results in heavier employment regulations which restrict the powers of big business to fire workers at will, effectively causing economic difficulties for such companies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Political Organization Types of organization