The great days of the party machine are probably long gone in modern liberal democracies, but it may well become a feature of states in the process of democratic transition. A classic example of the 19th and early 20th centuries is the Democratic Party...

A political machine is an unofficial system of a political organization based on patronage, the spoils system, "behind-the-scenes" control, and longstanding political ties within the structure of a representative democracy. Machines sometimes have a...

Democrat Barack Obama piled on the praise last month as he stood beside Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and embraced the mayor's bid for a sixth term."I don't think there's a city in America that has blossomed as much over the last couple of decades than...

One reader's reaction to the irresistable-but-glib headline on last night's Brooklyn leadership post: Same as the old boss? The old boss was an incompetent bumbler who refused to punish traitors who backed Republican and usually sat on his hands during general elections, which he...

Political machines and the turn of the 20th century