Editing Party discipline (section)

==Typology==
In order to maintain party discipline, given political parties usually appoint a [[Whip (politics)|party whip]] whose primary task it is to maintain party discipline and to ensure the given party members support the party on the floor of the legislature. In [[liberal democracy|liberal democracies]], party discipline commonly refers to the control that party leaders have over their [[parliamentary group|caucus]] members in the [[legislature]]. Party discipline is important for all systems of [[government]] that allow parties to hold [[political power]], as it can often be a determining factor in both the practical functionality of the government, as well as the efficient function of legitimate political process.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lidia |first=Close, Caroline Nunez Lopez |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/961108725 |title=At the root of parliamentary party cohesion: the role of intraparty heterogeneity and party ideology |date=2016-01-01 |publisher=Bruxelles |oclc=961108725}}</ref> [[Parliamentary group]]s can have discipline analogous to party discipline.

Breaking party discipline in both formal and informal settings may result in a number of consequences. Punishment for members who break party discipline largely varies on a case-to-case basis, but members may find themselves in a variety of positions from being internally demoted in the party to being expelled from the party itself.<ref name=":1" /> This results in there often being immense pressure for parliamentarians to compromise their beliefs if they conflict with the policy or decision that has been made by the parties leadership.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Guay |first=Monique |title=The pros and cons of party discipline |url=http://www.bestlibrary.org/ss11/2007/02/the_pros_and_co.html}}</ref>

In order to maintain strict discipline and discourage behaviour such as [[floor crossing]], which entails the given member leaving the party to join another caucus in the legislature, parties often offer a number of incentives to loyal members. These incentives also greatly vary on a case-to-case basis; examples include financial incentives and internal promotion within the party.<ref>{{Citation |last=Dyck |first=Rand |editor1-first=Leyton-Brown |editor1-last=David |title=ONTARIO |date=1997-01-31 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/9781442672031-008 |work=Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs |place=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |doi=10.3138/9781442672031-008 |isbn=9781442672031 |access-date=2022-03-16}}</ref> There are, however, occasions in which members of a party are granted a [[conscience vote]] or free vote, in which party discipline is waived, and given members are free to vote to their individual preference.<ref name=":2">{{Citation |last1=Bowler |first1=Shaun |title=Party Cohesion, Party Discipline, and Parliaments |date=2020-10-09 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv177tghd.5 |work=PARTY DISCIPLINE AND PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT |pages=3–22 |publisher=Ohio State University Press |access-date=2022-03-16 |last2=Farrell |first2=David M. |last3=Katz |first3=Richard S.|doi=10.2307/j.ctv177tghd.5 |s2cid=225163906 }}</ref>

This shared ideology is an essential and important part of party cohesion, and reinforcing the given shared ideology through methods such as party discipline is crucial to the ruling party's survival in government.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2016-03-30 |title=Revue doctrinale générale |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3917/nccc1.051.0069 |journal=Les Nouveaux Cahiers du Conseil constitutionnel |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=69–83 |doi=10.3917/nccc1.051.0069 |issn=2112-2679}}</ref>