THE ROLE OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES: ARE THEY BECOMING OBSOLETE?

Son yirmi-otuz yıldır, Amerikan siyasetinde siyasi partinin rolünün öneminin azaldığı yaygın bir şekilde iddia edilmektedir. Bu iddiaya göre, böyle bir sonuca varmak için çok sayıda delil vardır. Partinin düşüşte olduğunu iddia edenlere göre, siyasi partinin rolü, başkanlık ve yasama meclisleri seçimleri de dahil olmak üzere siyasi süreçlerde gitgide azalmaktadır. Bazıları daha da ileri gidip siyasi partinin artık Amerikan siyasetinde fonksiyonunu yitirdiğini bile iddia etmektedirler. Bu aşırı görüşe göre siyasi parti artık Amerikan siyasetinde kullanışlı bir araç olmaktan çıkmıştır. Bu çerçevede, Siyasi Eylem Komiteleri (Political Action Committees), partileri demode ve gereksiz hale getirdiği ve partilerin yerine başarıyla geçtikleri iddia edilmektedir. Artık adaylar seçilebilmek için siyasi partilere bağımlı olmadıklarından siyasi partiler daha önemsiz hale gelmektedir. Ancak nu çalışmanın amacı, siyasi partinin hala Amerikan siyasetinin birçok sürecinde çok önemli roller üstlendiğini göstermektir. Partinin düşüşte olduğuna işaret olarak gösterilen deliller aslında ABD’de partinin düşüşte olduğunu değil dönüştüğü anlamına gelmektedir. Dolayısıyla siyasi partiler ABD’de hala etkili ve fonksiyoneldirler. Ayrıca, yeni siyasi ortam, eskisine göre daha aday merkezli olsa da bunun siyasi partilerin düşüşte olduğu anlamına gelmediği iddia edilmektedir

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Siyasi parti, siyasi eylem komitesi, Amerikan siyaseti, partinin düşüşü, siyasi partinin etkinliği, aday-odaklı seçimler

THE ROLE OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES: ARE THEY BECOMING OBSOLETE?

It has been a fashion over the last two or three decades to claim that political party is in decline in the US politics as ample evidence the aforesaid argument goes suggests believing so According to the claimants in favor of party decline political party’s role has been diminishing in the political processes including the presidential and congressional elections Some even goes further asserting that political party is over in the US This extreme view suggests that political party is not a useful tool in the US politics anymore In this regard it is asserted that the Political Action Committees PACs have successfully supplanted the political parties making them outdated and unnecessary Since candidates are not dependent on political parties in order to get elected parties have become less and less significant and relevant It is however the objective of this study to demonstrate that political party still plays a significant role in many processes of American politics The evidence that is presented as the sign of party decline in fact suggests that political party in the US is transforming rather than declining Therefore political parties are well and alive in the US It is further argued that although the new political environment is more candidate centered than it used to be this does not necessarily mean that political parties are declining in the US Key words: Political party Political action committee PAC US politics Party decline the effectiveness of political party candidate centered elections ÖZET Son yirmi otuz yıldır Amerikan siyasetinde siyasi partinin rolünün öneminin azaldığı yaygın bir şekilde iddia edilmektedir Bu iddiaya göre böyle bir sonuca varmak için çok sayıda delil vardır Partinin düşüşte olduğunu iddia edenlere göre siyasi partinin rolü başkanlık ve yasama meclisleri seçimleri de dahil olmak üzere siyasi süreçlerde gitgide azalmaktadır Bazıları daha da ileri gidip siyasi partinin artık Amerikan siyasetinde fonksiyonunu yitirdiğini bile iddia etmektedirler Bu aşırı görüşe göre siyasi parti artık Amerikan siyasetinde kullanışlı bir araç olmaktan çıkmıştır Bu çerçevede Siyasi Eylem Komiteleri Political Action Committees partileri demode ve gereksiz hale getirdiği ve partilerin yerine başarıyla geçtikleri iddia edilmektedir Artık adaylar seçilebilmek için siyasi partilere bağımlı olmadıklarından siyasi partiler daha önemsiz hale gelmektedir Ancak nu çalışmanın amacı siyasi partinin hala Amerikan siyasetinin birçok sürecinde çok önemli roller üstlendiğini göstermektir Partinin düşüşte olduğuna işaret olarak gösterilen deliller aslında ABD’de partinin düşüşte olduğunu değil dönüştüğü anlamına gelmektedir Dolayısıyla siyasi partiler ABD’de hala etkili ve fonksiyoneldirler Ayrıca yeni siyasi ortam eskisine göre daha aday merkezli olsa da bunun siyasi partilerin düşüşte olduğu anlamına gelmediği iddia edilmektedir Anahtar terimler: Siyasi parti siyasi eylem komitesi Amerikan siyaseti partinin düşüşü siyasi partinin etkinliği aday odaklı seçimler

Keywords:

Political party, Political action committee (PAC), US politics, Party decline, the effectiveness of political party, candidate-centered elections,

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