An elite party is a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
consisting of members of the societal
elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...
, particularly members of parliament, who agree to co-operate politically in the spirit of principles and goals.
Elite parties form as groupings of elite members particularly in situations where an individual politician's political standing can be secured without the support of large populations. An elite party can form internally in the parliament and its political power is derived from that of its individual members. Elite parties have practically no extra-parliamentary structure and are generally more flexible than mass parties. The central role of independent, powerful individuals implies that their structure is often loose and that their policy may be internally disputed due to disagreements between individual members.
[Maurice Duverger, Party Politics and Pressure Groups: A Comparative Introduction, Robert Wagoner (trans.), Nelson, London, 1972. P. 7]
See also
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Capitalist state
The capitalist state is the state, its functions and the form of organization it takes within capitalist socioeconomic systems.Jessop, Bob (January 1977). "Recent Theories of the Capitalist State". ''Soviet Studies''. 1: 4. pp. 353–373. Th ...
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Elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...
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Elite theory
In philosophy, political science and sociology, elite theory is a theory of the State (polity), state that seeks to describe and explain power relations in society. In its contemporary form in the 21st century, elite theory posits that (1) power i ...
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Plutocracy
A plutocracy () or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income. The first known use of the term in English dates from 1631. Unlike most political systems, plutocracy is not rooted in any established ...
References
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Types of political parties