Editing Political party (section)

===Mass parties===
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F079282-0030, Münster, SPD-Parteitag, Willy Brandt.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Parties can arise from existing cleavages in society, like the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] which [[History of the Social Democratic Party of Germany|was formed]] to represent German workers.]]
{{Main|Mass politics}}
A mass party is a type of political party that developed around [[Cleavage (politics)|cleavages]] in society and mobilized the ordinary citizens or 'masses' in the political process.<ref name="hhm71" /> In Europe, the introduction of universal suffrage resulted in the creation of worker's parties that later evolved into mass parties; an example is the [[German Social Democratic Party]].<ref name=schumacher/>{{rp|165}} These parties represented large groups of citizens who had not previously been represented in political processes, articulating the interests of different groups in society. In contrast to elite parties, mass parties are funded by their members, and rely on and maintain a large membership base. Further, mass parties prioritize the mobilization of voters and are more centralized than elite parties.<ref name="hhm71" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Angell |first1=Harold M. |title=Duverger, Epstein and the Problem of the Mass Party: The Case of the Parti Québécois |journal=Canadian Journal of Political Science |date=June 1987 |volume=20 |issue=2 |page=364|doi=10.1017/S0008423900049489 |s2cid=154446570 }}</ref>