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If a country has no developed political party system, it is not really a democracy. And the development of political parties in Russia has a long way to go. The only branch of government in which parties play an influential role is in the State Duma (the lower house of parliament) -- not in the Federation Council (the upper house) or the executive branch. Addressing the question of why parties have developed so little elsewhere, it is argued that they are weak because the most powerful politicians choose to make them so. This institutional arrangement suits their purposes to control what happens in government from the top. Tracing the origins of this situation reveals that they lie in Russian history & culture, predating the Soviet period. Another impediment to party development is the scale of socioeconomic change in Russia. Socioeconomic cleavages were important to party development in Western Europe, with liberal & conservative parties representing different sectors of the population. However, there is reason for optimism for the future. While Putin enjoys solid support from the people, other major political actors do not; if Putin should cease to identify with Unified Russia, the majority party's future is uncertain. Also, a 2002 law passed by both houses & the president requires regional parliaments to be proportional in terms of political party representation. This will lead to party development at the regional level, which conceivably could spread upward. Tables. J. Stanton

THE AUTHOR REVIEWS SCHOLARSHIP REGARDING THE CONTINUING DEBATE OF THE PARTY-IN-DECLINE VERSUS THE PARTY-RESURGENT-SCHOOL OF THOUGHT ON THE STATUS OF AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES.

CRITICS OF RESPONSIBLE POLITICAL PARTIES OFTEN POINT TO THE SORRY EXPERIENCE OF POLICYMAKING BY THE NATIONAL PARTIES, BUT THESE CRITICISMS ARE BASED UPON RATHER LIMITED EXAMINATIONS OF ACTUAL POLICYMAKING EFFORTS BY THE PARTIES. A MORE CAREFUL REVIEW OF THE POLICYMAKING EFFORTS OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE FROM 1956 TO 1960 AND OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE FORM 1976 TO 1980 SHOWS THAT THEY WERE MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN IS USUALLY THOUGHT. THESE PAST SUCCESSES SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE PARTY LEADERS TO INFLUENCE PUBLIC POLICY.

"A modern book for a modern parties course Seth Masket and Hans Noel bring a contemporary perspective and engaging writing to the political parties course. Using key material from contemporary and foundational research, Masket and Noel focus on how parties solve important problems in the American political system. This perspective reveals the importance of political parties, their inner workings, and their failures and successes"--