{{Short description|Political system with three or more parties}} {{More citations needed|date=October 2012}} {{Party politics}} {{politics}} In [[political science]], a '''multi-party system''' is a [[political system]] where more than two meaningfully distinct [[political parties]] regularly run for office and win offices (eg, membership in parliament) in [[election]]s.<ref>[http://student.education2020.com/activities/vocab.aspx?keystr=12674&order=02010205&stbl=2196465 Education 2020] definition of ''multiparty'': "A system in which several major and many lesser parties exist, seriously compete for, and actually win public offices."</ref> Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries or jurisdictions (together, 'polities') which use [[proportional representation]] forms of election, compared to those that have implemented [[Winner-take-all system|winner-take-all]] elections; this tendency is known as [[Duverger's law]].
In multi-party countries or polities, usually no single party achieves at an election a parliamentary majority on its own (elections result in what are sometimes called [[hung parliament]]s). Instead, to craft a majority, multiple political parties must negotiate to form a [[coalition]] (also known as a 'minority government') which can command a majority of the votes in the relevant legislative organ of state (eg, parliamentary chamber). This majority is required in order to make laws, form an executive government, or conduct basically any of the necessary work of the parliament or the government (eg, to choose a president, elect parliamentary leadership, adopt a legislative agenda, or change rules of parliamentary procedure).
This tendency to not give sufficient power to one party to alone make significant changes—at least not without the support of other parties elected—tends to moderate governmental decision making in multi-party system jurisdictions; generally, it encourages negotiation over ideological purity, and more centrist, cooperative and compromising parties, governments and policies.
== Comparisons with other party systems == Unlike a [[One-party state|one-party system]] (or a [[dominant-party system]]), a multi-party system encourages the general [[constituency]] to form multiple distinct, officially recognized groups or alignments-of-interest, generally called [[political party|political parties]]. Each party, especially but not only during election campaigns, competes for votes from the [[suffrage|enfranchised]] constituents (those allowed to vote) of the relevant polity. A multi-party system prevents the leadership of a single party from controlling a single [[legislative]] chamber, at least not without ongoing challenge from other 'opposition' or 'minor' or 'minority' parties.
A special case of a multi-party system where only two parties have a realistic possibility of winning an election is called a [[two-party system]]. A two-party system requires voters primarily to align themselves in (two) large blocks; these blocks are sometimes so large that they cannot agree internally on appropriate policies or even on overarching or organisational principles. Some theories argue that this gives [[centrism|centrist]]s (including those in each of the two main blocks or parties) more opportunities to gain control, though this is disputed and depends largely on the features of elections (e.g., compulsory voting; political fundraising regulations) and institutions, and the tradition of rule of law, in the relevant polity. On the other hand, if there are multiple major parties, each with less than a majority of the vote, the parties are strongly motivated to work together, over time, to allow for the formation of working governments, or indeed any (democratically justifiable) government. Multi-party systems can also tend to promote centrism, privilege coalition-building, slow down or stimie major policy pivots, moderate policy adventurism, and discourage polarization, especially polarization of the leader of a coalition (polarization here referencing an ideological movement to the extremes, or 'poles' (edges), of political opinion by political parties—and thus by polities and their leaders).<ref>The social science literature has contributed enormously in recent years on the effects on forms of government and quality of life of the citizens. Lowell's axiom is one of the most tested theory empirically tested (Lowell, A.L., 1896). [https://www.academia.edu/29273929/Is_multi-party_coalition_government_better_for_the_protection_of_socially_backward_classes_in_India Governments and Parties in Continental Europe. Bostin, MA: Houghton Mifflin).].</ref><ref>Basu, K., Dey Biswas, S., Harish, P., Dhar, S., & Lahiri, M. (2016). Is multi-party coalition government better for the protection of socially backward classes in India? UN-WIDER Working Paper, 2016 (109).</ref>
== By country == [[Argentina]], [[Armenia]], [[Australia]], [[Belgium]], [[Brazil]], [[Canada]], [[Chile]], [[Denmark]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Iceland]], [[India]], [[Indonesia]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Israel]], [[Italy]], the [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], [[Norway]], the [[Philippines]], [[Poland]], [[Sweden]], [[Turkey]] and [[Ukraine]] are examples of countries with multi-party systems.
==See also== * [[List of ruling political parties by country]] * [[Polarized pluralism]] * [[Political organisation]] * [[Ingroups and outgroups]] <!-- ==Notes== {{notelist}}-->
==References== {{reflist}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Multi-Party System}} [[Category:Political systems]] [[Category:Political party systems]] [[Category:Elections]] [[Category:Government]] [[Category:Types of democracy]]