Cover -- Contents -- Chapter I: Political Parties -- 1.1 General description -- 1.2 Party origins -- 1.3 The concept of the political party -- 1.4 Functions of political parties -- 1.5 Types of parties -- 1.6 Systems of parties -- Chapter II: Elections and Electoral Systems -- 2.1 Free and competitive elections -- 2.2 Elections to monocratic functions -- 2.3 Electoral systems utilized for parliament elections -- 2.3.1 Majority systems with one ballot (plurality) -- 2.3.2 Majority electoral systems with two ballots in uninominal colleges -- 2.3.3 Proportional representation systems -- 2.3.4 Comparative analysis: Arend Lijphart -- 2.3.5 Conclusions. Advantages and disadvantages of proportional systems -- Chapter III: Parliaments -- 3.1 Origin of parliaments -- 3.2 Structure of parliaments -- 3.3 Functions of parliament -- 3.4 Representation -- 3.5 Styles of representation -- Chapter IV: Governments -- 4.1 Government Organization -- 4.2 Types of Cabinets -- 4.2.1 Coalition Theories -- 4.2.2 Governments and Policies -- 4.2.3 Government Extension -- 4.2.4 Forms of Government -- Chapter V: Aspects of Multi-Party Systems today -- 5.1 Partidism and Partidocracy -- 5.2 Catch-All Parties -- 5.3 Considerations on the system of parties in Romania today -- Chapter VI: Knowledge Culture and the Progress of Democracy -- 6.2 Formal democracy and substantial democracy -- 6.3 Knowledge and the progress of democracy (democracy as outcome and process) -- Abbreviations in this Work -- Bibliography.