Introduction
The choice of a political framework regarding the number of parties incorporated into its system is a crucial step on the path toward promoting democracy and representing all community members. Compared to the two-party concept deployed in the U.S. context, the African political hierarchy, which has been a one-party system, appears to be flawed. Furthermore, examining the history of the U.S. political permutations, one could consider Obama’s victory over Hillary Clinton an occurrence worthy of being discussed more thoroughly. How Obama managed to defeat Clinton in the presidential elections needs to be represented as the most pressing question. Though the chapter raises a substantial point regarding the criticism of the one-party system in Africa, it also fails to recognize the cultural underpinnings of the described situation compared to the two-party framework of the U.S.
Main body
Chapter 8 provides a range of unique and insightful perspectives on the political system as a concept, as well as specific political frameworks, including those of the U.S. and Africa. What strikes me most when considering the information offered by the author is the fact that the African political context is represented by a one-party political system, which is a striking contrast to the two-party political framework of the U.S. Compared to the latter approach, which enables the promotion of democracy, the one-party system appears to inhibit the promotion of democracy. Indeed, in the context of a one-party political framework, the presence of any dissenting opinions is likely to be ignored, at best, and actively suppressed, at worst. Therefore, the specified aspect of the African political framework seems to be worthy of further elaboration and may need to be subjected to change.
Another important issue that the author raises in Chapter 8 concerns the victory that Obama attained in the 20087 election over Hillary Clinton. Perceived as exceptional at the time, the situation under analysis indicated a shift in the political environment of the U.S. Specifically, the specified victory indicated that the role and representation of African American people in the U.S. political system improved to a significant extent. Although the described change did not imply that the problem of racism as an institutional issue in the U.S. sociopolitical environment was solved, it served as an indication of a crucial societal shift. In addition, the specified alterations could be interpreted as what the author (Edwards et al., 2005) termed the democratization of the Democratic Party. Though already substantially progressive, the Democratic Party made an impressive leap in its effort to ensure that vulnerable minorities were properly represented in the U.S. political landscape.
At the same time, the issue of political polarization still represents a concern in the contemporary political landscape of the U.S. The described concern can be seen as the effect of the two-party system being deployed as opposed to a multi-party one (Edwards et al., 2005). However, the redesign of the current political system within the U.S. toward a multi-faceted political environment will require decades of continuous change.
Conclusion
Although the overall argument regarding the lack of a democratic perspective that the one-party system in Africa provides, the author does not take the cultural aspects of the African political setting into account, which weakens the argument. In addition, the author’s statement regarding the victory of Obama over Clinton stands out as a memorable and reasonable commentary on the American political environment. Overall, the chapter leaves a mixed impression, with some of the points being quite fair, while others lacking nuance regarding the sociocultural underpinnings of political choices.
Reference
Edwards, G. C., Wattenberg, M. P., Lineberry, R. L., & Leighley, J. E. (2005). Government in America: People, politics, and policy (12th ed.). Longman.