Here's why:
* Noun: A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. "Parties" is a noun, and "political" acts as an adjective modifying the noun.
* Phrase: A phrase is a group of words that work together to express a single idea, but don't have a subject and verb. "Political parties" acts as a single unit, referring to a specific type of organization.
Let's look at an example:
* "Political parties play a vital role in democracies."
In this sentence, "political parties" is the subject of the verb "play," showing that it functions as a noun phrase.