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Political finance
This is a stub for the article offered under "requested articles, political science".
Political finance covers all funds that are raised and spent for political purposes. Political expenses can be caused by
- election campaigns run by candidates, candiddate committees, interest groups or political parties,
- contests for nomination or re-selection,
- training activities for party activists, officeholders or candidates,
- policy development by parties or party related bodies,
- current operations of party organizations at the national, regional or local level (headquarters, branches and chapters) and
- efforts to educate citizens with regard to popular initiatives, ballot issues or referendums.
Due to this multitude of political purposes the term "campaign funds" (used as subject heading in Library of Congress cataloguing) is too narrow to cover all funds that are deployed in the political process.
Political revenue may be collected from individual citizens ("grassroots fundraising", e.g. in small donations or party membership dues), interested money (like businesses, lobby groups and trade unions), assessments of officeholders (called the "party tax"), public subsidies or - sometimes even - corrupt exchanges (like graft, buying access to politicians, offices or titles, extorsion and influence peddling).
Many countries have regulated the flow of political funds. Such regulation, the political finance regime, may include bans and limits on certain kinds of income and expediture, level and distribution of as well as access to direct and indirect public subsidies, transparency of political funds by disclosure and reporting as well as enforcement of rules and sanctions for infringements.
The study of political finance was pioneered by James K. Pollock [1] and Loise Overacker.[2] Alexander Heard contributed a groundbreaking analysis for the U.S.[3] International comparison was started by Arnold J. Heidenheimer, who also introduced the term political finance to comprise campaign and and party funding.[4] thus bridgeing the gap of perception between North America and Western Europe. Herbert E. Alexander edited a couple of comparative volumes.[5] Arthur B. Gunlicks concluded this cycle of comparative studies.[6] The most important books on non-US countries were written by Khayyam Z. Paltiel (Canada) and Michael Pinto-Duschinsky (Britain).[7]
For details on selected countries see Campaign finance in the United States, Federal political financing in Canada, Political donations in Australia, Political funding in Japan, Political funding in the United Kingdom.
- ^ Pollock, James K., Party Campaign Funds. New York, NY: Knopf, 1926.
- ^ Overacker, Louise, Money in Elections. New York, NY:Macmillan, 1932.
- ^ Heard, Alexander, The Costs of Democracy. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1960.
- ^ Heidenheimer, Arnold J. (ed.), Comparative political finance: the financing of party organizatuions and election campaigns. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1970.
- ^ Alexander, Herbert E., Political Finance. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1979; Alexander, Herbert E. (ed.), Comparative political finance in the 1980s. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press: 1989; Alexander, Herbert E., and Shiratori, Rei (eds.), Comparative political finance among the democracies. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994.
- ^ Gunlicks, Arthur B., Campaign and Party Finance in North America and Western Europe. Boulöder, CO: Westview Press, 1993.
- ^ Paltiel, Khayyan Z., Political Party Financing in Canada. Toronto: McGraw-Hill, 1970 and Pinto Duschinsky, Michael, Britisch Political Finance, 1830-1980. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 1981.