This book is a major analysis of the role of political parties in the development and promotion of democracy. Alan Ware offers an original discussion of an area of political life which has remained surprisingly under-examined – the impact of parties on democratic life.

Ware's work successfully combines a comparative study of parties with a comprehensive discussion of democratic theory. He examines the role of parties in one-party political systems, focussing on the issue of whether there can be democracy in such systems. One-party systems are then contrasted with those found in representative democracies. Ware offers a highly detailed analysis of the development, evolution and structure of political parties in the West, exploring such issues as the nature of voter-choice in two-party and multi-party systems, and who exactly controls the political system – the voter or the parties, the political elite or the grass-roots activists? Finally, Ware looks at the internal operations of political parties and the fate of attempts to democratize them. He draws extensive conclusions about the proper place of parties and party systems in democratic theory.

Citizens, Parties and the State will be welcomed by second and third-year students and researchers in politics, sociology, current affairs and international politics.