Two political parties

Two-party systems are states such as Jamaica, and Ghana in which there are two political parties dominant to such an extent that electoral success under the banner of any other party is almost impossible. One right wing coalition party and one left wing coalition party is the most common ideological breakdown in such a system but in two-party states political parties are traditionally catch all parties which are ideologically broad and inclusive.

The United States is widely considered a two-party system. Since the birth of the republic, a conservative (1900's republican) and liberal (1900's democratic) party have usually been the status quo within American politics, with some exception. Third Parties often receive little support and are not often the victors in many races. Despite this, there have been several examples of third parties siphoning votes from major parties that were expected to win (ex: Theodore Roosevelt: election of 1912, Ross Perot: election of 1992).

The United Kingdom is widely considered a two-party state, as historically power has alternated between two dominant parties (currently the Labour Party and the Conservative Party). However, the 2010 General Election resulted in a coalition government led by the conservative Party and including the Liberal Democrats. There also numerous other parties as well as independent MPs, hold a substantial number of seats in Parliament.

A plurality voting system usually leads to a two-party system, a relationship described by Maurice Duverger and known as Duverger's Law.

A poster for the European Parliament election 2004 in Italy, showing party lists

Multi-party systems are systems in which more than two parties are represented and elected to public office.

Australia, Canada, Pakistan, India, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and Norway are examples of countries with two strong parties and additional smaller parties that have also obtained representation. The smaller or "third" parties may form a part of a coalition government together with one of the larger parties or act independently from the other dominant parties.

More commonly, in cases where there are three or more parties, no one party is likely to gain power alone, and parties work with each other to form coalition governments. This has been an emerging trend in the politics of the Republic of Ireland since the 1980's and is almost always the case in Germany on national and state level, and in most constituencies at the communal level. Furthermore since the forming of the Republic of Iceland there has never been a government not led by a coalition (usually of the Independence Party & one other often the Social Democratic Alliance. Political change is often easier with a coalition government than in one-party or two-party dominant systems.

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