Two-party system

A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties^[a] 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 referred to as the majority or governing party while the other is the minority or opposition party. Around the world, the term is used to refer to one of two kinds of party systems. Both result from from Duverger's law, which demonstrates that "winner-take-all" or "first-past-the-post" elections produce two dominant parties over time.^[1]^[2]

The first type of two-party system is an arrangement in which all (or nearly all) elected officials belong to one of two major parties. In such systems, minor or third parties rarely win any seats in the legislature. Such systems exist, for example, in the United States, the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Zimbabwe.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] In such systems, while chances for third-party candidates winning election to major national office are remote, it is possible for factions within the larger parties to exert influence on one or even both of the two major parties.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]

Two-party system also indicates an arrangement, common in parliamentary systems, in which two major parties dominate elections, but in which there are viable minor parties and/or independents regularly elected to the legislature. These successful minor parties are often regional parties. In these systems, the two major parties exert proportionately greater influence than their percentage of voters would suggest, and other parties may frequently win election to local or subnational office.^[13] Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia are examples of countries that have this kind of two-party system.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ Wong Chin Huat, fz.com, July 29, 2013, When winner takes all Archived 2013-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...This "winner-takes-all" characteristic of political contestation then forces political groups to consolidate into two blocs, hence, the two-party system..."
^ Regis Publishing, The US System: Winner Takes All, ^{[dead link]} Accessed August 12, 2013, "...Winner-take-all rules trigger a cycle that leads to and strengthens a system of few (two in the US) political parties..." (in Wayback Machine)
^ Cite error: The named reference SchmidtTextbook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ The Two Party System, Boundless Publishing, Two-party systems are prominent in various countries, such as the U.S., and contain both advantages and disadvantages Archived 2013-10-03 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013 "...There are two main reasons winner-takes-all systems lead to a two-party system...",
^ Eric Black, Minnpost, October 8, 2012, Why the same two parties dominate our two-party system Archived 2020-05-02 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...SMDP (single-member districts, plurality) voting system. ... This forces those who might favor a minor party candidate to either vote for whichever of the two biggest parties the voter dislikes the least, or to risk the likelihood that their vote will be "wasted" or, worse, that they will end up helping the major-party candidate whom the voter dislikes the most to win. Minor parties aren't banned, but they seldom produce a plurality winner, and their lack of success often causes the minor parties to wither and die...."
^ History Learning Site, Why America is a two-party state Archived 2015-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...The American electoral system – winner-takes-all – guarantees that any third, fourth party etc has no chance of winning...."
^ Patrick Bashan, CATO Institute, June 9, 2004, Do Electoral Systems Affect Government Size? Archived 2020-03-10 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...The current system has many disadvantages, most notably its propensity to discriminate against minor parties operating outside the increasingly uncompetitive, cozy two-party system.... America's winner-takes-all electoral system may be the least bad option for those seeking to limit government involvement in the nation's economic life...."
^ George F. Will, October 12, 2006, Washington Post, From Schwarzenegger, a Veto for Voters' Good Archived 2017-05-20 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...That electoral vote system (combined with the winner-take-all allocation of votes in all states but Maine and Nebraska) makes it very difficult for third-party presidential candidates to be competitive..."
^ Ashley Ford, September 17, 2012, Cavalier Daily, Party of three: A third political party is an important aspect of the Virginia democratic process Archived 2020-03-23 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...The two party system forces the third party to join their group in a winner take all system..."
^ Two Party System, PBS, Two-Party System Archived 2019-11-17 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...Third-party or independent candidates face a slew of obstacles in American politics, from limited media coverage to legal barriers and Congressional leadership rules. Laws regarding third-party candidates also vary from state to state, presenting additional difficulties...."
^ Cite error: The named reference Cillizza was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake, May 18, 2012, The Washington Post, Americans Elect and the death of the third party movement Archived 2020-02-25 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 11, 2013
^ Disch, Lisa Jane (2002). The Tyranny of the Two-Party System. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231110358. Archived from the original on December 26, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2012 – via Google Books.

[2] Wong Chin Huat, fz.com, July 29, 2013, When winner takes all Archived 2013-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...This "winner-takes-all" characteristic of political contestation then forces political groups to consolidate into two blocs, hence, the two-party system..."

[Regis-3] Regis Publishing, The US System: Winner Takes All, ^{[dead link]} Accessed August 12, 2013, "...Winner-take-all rules trigger a cycle that leads to and strengthens a system of few (two in the US) political parties..." (in Wayback Machine)

[SchmidtTextbook-4] Cite error: The named reference SchmidtTextbook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Boundless-5] The Two Party System, Boundless Publishing, Two-party systems are prominent in various countries, such as the U.S., and contain both advantages and disadvantages Archived 2013-10-03 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013 "...There are two main reasons winner-takes-all systems lead to a two-party system...",

[EricBlack-6] Eric Black, Minnpost, October 8, 2012, Why the same two parties dominate our two-party system Archived 2020-05-02 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...SMDP (single-member districts, plurality) voting system. ... This forces those who might favor a minor party candidate to either vote for whichever of the two biggest parties the voter dislikes the least, or to risk the likelihood that their vote will be "wasted" or, worse, that they will end up helping the major-party candidate whom the voter dislikes the most to win. Minor parties aren't banned, but they seldom produce a plurality winner, and their lack of success often causes the minor parties to wither and die...."

[7] History Learning Site, Why America is a two-party state Archived 2015-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...The American electoral system – winner-takes-all – guarantees that any third, fourth party etc has no chance of winning...."

[Cato-8] Patrick Bashan, CATO Institute, June 9, 2004, Do Electoral Systems Affect Government Size? Archived 2020-03-10 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...The current system has many disadvantages, most notably its propensity to discriminate against minor parties operating outside the increasingly uncompetitive, cozy two-party system.... America's winner-takes-all electoral system may be the least bad option for those seeking to limit government involvement in the nation's economic life...."

[9] George F. Will, October 12, 2006, Washington Post, From Schwarzenegger, a Veto for Voters' Good Archived 2017-05-20 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...That electoral vote system (combined with the winner-take-all allocation of votes in all states but Maine and Nebraska) makes it very difficult for third-party presidential candidates to be competitive..."

[10] Ashley Ford, September 17, 2012, Cavalier Daily, Party of three: A third political party is an important aspect of the Virginia democratic process Archived 2020-03-23 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...The two party system forces the third party to join their group in a winner take all system..."

[PBS-11] Two Party System, PBS, Two-Party System Archived 2019-11-17 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 12, 2013, "...Third-party or independent candidates face a slew of obstacles in American politics, from limited media coverage to legal barriers and Congressional leadership rules. Laws regarding third-party candidates also vary from state to state, presenting additional difficulties...."

[Cillizza-12] Cite error: The named reference Cillizza was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Cillizza2-13] Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake, May 18, 2012, The Washington Post, Americans Elect and the death of the third party movement Archived 2020-02-25 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed August 11, 2013

[14] Disch, Lisa Jane (2002). The Tyranny of the Two-Party System. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0231110358. Archived from the original on December 26, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2012 – via Google Books.

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