Study On American Presidential Primary And Party Politics

This thesis focuses on the study of American party politics and American presidential primary system.Based on the research of American party politics and American presidential primary system,this thesis analyses the functions of parties in the primary and the changes of these functions before and after the implementation of the presidential primary,and study the influence of the presidential primary on the party politics.The evolution of American presidential nomination has experienced three periods:caucus, national convention and primary.Every period has its own characteristic,and the reasons for this evolution are very different.The application of presidential primary brought great changes to the parties and party organizations.At the time of primary system,the power to nominate a presidential candidate has been transferred to common party members and common voters,while the party leaders and party organizations lost the absolute control they used to have.Although the presidential primary has weakened the parties and party organizations,this does not mean that the parties lose their functions absolutely.Parties and party organizations still have their roles in presidential primary,such as providing "party label",organizing and coordinating the primary,etc.The presidential primary also widens American democracy,and consolidates the two-party system as well.The competition during the presidential primary tends to result in intraparty splitting,thus how to deal with this splitting or potential splitting is a new challenge for the parties.