scholarly journals Labor movements and party system development: Why does the Caribbean have stable two-party systems, but the Pacific does not?

2020 ◽  
Vol 126 ◽  
pp. 104719
Author(s):  
Matthew Louis Bishop ◽  
Jack Corbett ◽  
Wouter Veenendaal
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
System Development ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Labor Movements ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Caribbean

scholarly journals Forms of Inter-party Cooperation: Electoral Coalitions and Party Mergers

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raimondas Ibenskas ◽  
Nicole Bolleyer
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
System Development ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
Electoral Coalitions ◽  
Analytical Scheme ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Functional Areas

This article is part of the special cluster titled Parties and Democratic Linkage in Post-Communist Europe, guest edited by Lori Thorlakson, and will be published in the August 2018 issue of EEPS Various forms of inter-party cooperation have important effects on party system fragmentation and stability in young democracies. However, the conceptualisation and measurement of these forms of inter-party cooperation and the examination of their consequences on party system development remain limited in the literature on parties and party systems. This research addresses this gap in the scholarship in three ways. First, we present the analytical scheme of different types of party cooperation. We argue that the forms of inter-party cooperation vary on two dimensions. The first dimension refers to their structural basis: the stability of the cooperation as captured by whether it is rule-based or, in other words, underpinned by shared rules that are mutually accepted. The second dimension refers to their scope: the number of functional areas of party life subject to cooperation. The two dimensions lead us to four basic forms of inter-party cooperation: (1) non-rule-based, functionally restricted coalitions; (2) rule-based, functionally restricted coalitions; (3) non-rule-based organization-wide mergers; and (4) rule-based organization-wide mergers. Second, we develop theoretical expectations on the frequency of these forms of inter-party cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. Third, to test these expectations, we present empirical evidence on the number of electoral coalitions and mergers in the first six electoral periods in 10 countries in the region. The results of the analyses support our expectations: non-rule-based organization-wide mergers are rare. The other three forms of party cooperation (non-rule-based coalitions; rule-based coalitions; rule-based mergers) are fairly common in most countries in the region, although less so in the more recent electoral periods.

Decaying Versus Developing Party Systems: A Comparison of Party Images in the United States and West Germany

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Dieter Klingemann ◽  
Martin P. Wattenberg
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Party System ◽  
System Development ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Election Study ◽  
National Election Study ◽  
Citizens Attitudes

This article examines citizens' attitudes towards the two major parties in the United States since 1952 and in West Germany since 1969 employing open-ended data from each country's National Election Study time series. Despite similar declining trends in party identification in the two countries, it is found that the patterns of change in party images are markedly different. In the United States it is shown that voters have become increasingly neutral towards the two parties as the focus has turned more and more towards the candidates. In contrast, in West Germany voters have come to have a more balanced view of the parties, seeing both positive and negative features of both. Thus in both cases there has been a decline in polarized strong partisanship (‘my party right or wrong’), but for different reasons. In the United States this decline can be seen as a sign of the decay of an ageing and outdated party system; in West Germany it can be seen as the development of realistic and balanced views of a party system which is just reaching full maturity. The implications for analysing party system development in Eastern Europe are discussed.

scholarly journals THE POLITICS OF POPULISM SPREAD AND THE CHANGING IDEOLOGICAL SPACE IN EUROPE

2019 ◽  
pp. 52-59
Author(s):  
Yulian Braychevskyy
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
System Development ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Think Tank ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Ideological Space

Aim: To perform the geographic analysis of the socio-political context of mass spread of populist movements in European countries and to trace its impact on the ideological space in the European region. Methodology: The paper is based upon the historical-geographic overview of the pre-conditions framing the political and party systems development in European countries in the second half of the XXth century, analysis of populism spread dynamics across European states and speculation on the factors conditioning rapid populism spread becoming a major political trend f the recent years. Empirical data on the level of support of the populist parties in European countries is borrowed from the Swedish analytical think-tank TIMBRO, which compiles the authoritarian populism index for European states and provides data on the support level for populist parties of various parts of the political spectrum. We used the methodology of the T.Blair Institute for Global Change for classifying populist political forces in Europe. Results: The article presents the analysis of the key trends and dynamics of the electoral support for populist parties in the number of European states and a historical-geographic overview of the development of the political and party systems in the European countries in the post-War period. Also, it contains the analysis of the contextual factors of populism electoral support, namely those related to the changes in relations between political elites and their base electorate as well as those related to the changes in the external environment of political system development. Academic novelty: The article suggests employing theoretical perspectives of B.Moore (social origins of democratic institutes and evolution of the relations between political elites and their electorates) and S.M.Lipsett-S.Rokkan (development of the major socio-political cleavages in European states) while searching for explanations of the populist parties growing support. That is employing the terms of structural analysis of the party elites, their material, social and value base as well as historical and geographic context of their development. Practical significance: Ukraine faces similar to other European countries challenges of mass populism. The search for efficient strategies of countering this phenomenon requires comprehensive analysis of the European experience as well as comparison of the Ukrainian context and factors determining political party system and ways of electorate mobilization with the analogous features of the political space in the European states.

scholarly journals Spain’s party system development trends in the context of the electoral cycle 2019

2019 ◽  
pp. 36-42
Author(s):  
A. Baranov
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
System Development ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
New Parties ◽  
Autonomous Communities ◽  
Regional Parties ◽  
Radical Reform ◽  
Electoral Cycle

The topicality of the article is that the party system of Spain is undergoing serious transformations, the positioning of political forces and their ideologies, the organizational structure are changing significantly. National parliamentary elections are held for the fourth time in 4 years, which is unique to the countries of consolidated democracy. Trends in the development of Spain are relevant for cross- national comparisons of party systems. Methods – systems approach, synchronous comparative analysis, a secondary analysis of the results of opinion polls, mapping of party support in the elections. Materials: regulations; statements by party leaders; pre-election programs; results of sociological surveys; statistics on the results of elections. Results: The crisis of the party system in Spain is peculiar to the transition from a bipartisan model to a model of moderate pluralism, increased fragmentation, significant volatility, and the dependence of the main national parties on the support of regional parties. In the electoral cycle of 2019, the party system of Spain is a system of moderate pluralism (5 leading actors) with the growing role of regional parties, pragmatic coalitions are inevitable for creating a government. The economic recovery of 2014–2019 influenced the decline in the influence of “Unidos Podemos”, their electorate partially returned to the PSOE. In European and subnational elections, these trends are even more pronounced due to the format of electoral systems and the isolation of regional party systems. The threefold structure of the Spanish electorate, distributed mainly among left-leaning centers, center-right and regional nationalists, is preserved. An analysis of the statistical results of the elections and questionnaires proves an inversely correlated relationship between the level of support for the PSOE and “Unidos Podemos” in the center-left segment, and the level of support for the People’s Party, “Citizens” and “Vox” in the center-right camp. The influence of parties is extremely uneven across autonomous communities, and unevenness is increasing. The increase in the instability of the party system in Spain is predicted due to the growing influence of new parties and the underdeveloped culture of parliamentary coalitions. This process increases the chances of Catalan nationalists. A radical reform of the political system of Spain is brewing; the electorate of the left parties expresses the greatest demand for reform.

scholarly journals Political Party Systems in East and Southeast Asia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olli Hellmann
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Party System ◽  
System Development ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Academic Work ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
East And Southeast Asia

This article reviews academic work on party systems—defined as the patterns of interactions between political parties—in East and Southeast Asia (hereafter “East Asia”). Before drawing a “map” of the relevant literature, it is important to acknowledge the political and cultural diversity of the region. Not only is East Asia characterized by a multiplicity of political systems, ranging from totalitarian regimes to consolidated democracies, but scholars are, in addition, faced with linguistic heterogeneity, which creates incentives to specialize in individual countries rather than theoretical themes. This diversity is clearly reflected in the study of party systems. First, party systems differ significantly between democratic and nondemocratic political systems. What is particularly striking is that parties in the democracies of East Asia are generally only weakly institutionalized. In contrast, regime parties in the region’s autocratic political systems tend to command effective and extensive organizations—a diagnosis that does not just apply to the surviving communist regimes, but also to the region’s “electoral authoritarian” regimes. Second, much of the scholarship on party systems in East Asia takes the form of single-country case studies. While rich in empirical detail, these studies rarely engage in theoretical debates on party systems and thus they do not attract much of a readership beyond regional studies experts. This annotated bibliography aims to address this issue. By organizing academic work on East Asian party systems into a theory-guided framework, the bibliography gives readers an overview of how existing studies may contribute to the general literature on party politics—even though these studies themselves may not make their contribution explicit. Specifically, the bibliography is structured along four key theoretical questions: (1) How can we account for differences in the development of party systems? (2) How do party systems affect the consolidation of (democratic and autocratic) political regimes? (3) How do party systems relate to the state? (4) What is the effect of party systems on the quality of governance? The bibliography covers different conceptual dimensions of party system development, including fragmentation (how many relevant parties are there?), party-voter linkages (how are political parties rooted in the electorate?), party system institutionalization (how stable are patterns of interparty competition?), and party institutionalization (how routinized are party internal processes?).

scholarly journals It’s Been Mostly About Money! A Multi-method Research Approach to the Sources of Institutionalization

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 683-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Casal Bértoa
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Party System ◽  
System Development ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Process Tracing ◽  
Research Approach

Although much has been written about the process of party system institutionalization in different regions, the reasons why some party systems institutionalize while others do not still remain a mystery. Seeking to fill this lacuna in the literature, and using a mixed-methods research approach, this article constitutes a first attempt to answer simultaneously the following three questions: (1) What specific factors help party systems to institutionalize (or not)? (2) What are the links (in terms of time and degree) as well as the causal mechanisms behind such relationships? and (3) how do they affect a particular party system? In order to do so, this article focuses on the study of party system development and institutionalization in 13 postcommunist democracies between 1990 and 2010. Methodologically, the article innovates in five respects. First, it continues the debate on the importance of “mixed methods” when trying to answer different research questions. Second, it adds to the as yet brief literature on the combination of process tracing and qualitative comparative analysis. Third, it constitutes the first attempt to date to use a most similar different outcome/most different same outcome procedure in order to reduce causal complexity before undertaking a crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis. Third, it also shows the merits of combining both congruence and process tracing in the same comparative study. Finally, it also develops a novel “bipolar comparative method” to explain the extent to which opposite outcomes are determined by reverse conditions and conflicting intervening causal forces.

Federal and Subnational Elections in Russia: Coherence and Divergence in Electoral Outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-353
Author(s):  
Rostislav Turovsky ◽  
Marina Sukhova
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Strong Connection ◽  
Regional Parties ◽  
Electoral Outcomes ◽  
Electoral Authoritarianism ◽  
Subnational Elections ◽  
Effective Number Of Parties ◽  
Number Of Parties ◽  
Regional Elections

Abstract This article examines the differences between Russian voting at federal elections and regional legislature elections, both combined and conducted independently. The authors analyse these differences, their character and their dynamics as an important characteristic of the nationalisation of the party system. They also test hypotheses about a higher level of oppositional voting and competitiveness in subnational elections, in accordance with the theory of second-order elections, as well as the strategic nature of voting at federal elections, by contrast with expressive voting during subnational campaigns. The empirical study is based on calculating the differences in votes for leading Russian parties at subnational elections and at federal elections (simultaneous, preceding and following) from 2003, when mandatory voting on party lists was widespread among the regions, to 2019. The level of competitiveness is measured in a similar way, by calculating the effective number of parties. The study indicates a low level of autonomy of regional party systems, in many ways caused by the fact that the law made it impossible to create regional parties, and then also by the 2005 ban on creation of regional blocs. The strong connection between federal and regional elections in Russia clearly underlines the fluid and asynchronic nature of its electoral dynamics, where subnational elections typically predetermine the results of the following federal campaigns. At the same time, the formal success of the nationalisation of the party system, achieved by increasing the homogeneity of voting at the 2016 and 2018 federal elections, is not reflected by the opposing process of desynchronisation between federal and regional elections after Putin’s third-term election. There is also a clear rise in the scale of the differences between the two. At the same time, the study demonstrates the potential presence in Russia of features common to subnational elections in many countries: their greater support for the opposition and presence of affective voting. However, there is a clear exception to this trend during the period of maximum mobilisation of the loyal electorate at the subnational elections immediately following the accession of Crimea in 2014–2015, and such tendencies are generally restrained by the conditions of electoral authoritarianism.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Kenny
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Party System ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
System Change ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Institutional Reforms

This final chapter draws out the two main conclusions from the book. First, it discusses the policy implications of its findings. It suggests caution in the decentralization of political authority as a remedy for democratic underperformance in patronage-based democracies. Rather than making government more accountable, it may instead exacerbate principal–agent conflicts between center and periphery. More important than decentralization in the short term may be institutional reforms at the center that make parties more programmatic and responsive to citizens. Second, it sets out some of the implications of the book’s findings for the study of populism and party-system change more generally. It shows that the varied ways in which voters and parties are linked creates different pathways to the decline of establishment parties and the success of populist alternatives. Further comparative research across party systems might contribute positively to institutional reform and political change.

Rurality and Party System Fragmentation in the Nigerian Presidential Elections of the Fourth Republic

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-85
Author(s):  
Cletus Famous Nwankwo
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Voting Behaviour ◽  
Composite Measure ◽  
Singular Measures ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
Negative Effect

AbstractThis paper examines the effect of rurality on party system fragmentation in the Nigerian presidential elections of the fourth republic. The findings show that party system fragmentation (PSF) has been characteristically low in the Nigerian presidential elections and rurality does not significantly predict party system fragmentation. Rurality has a negative effect on PSF in all the elections studied except the 2003 election but only significant in the 2011 poll. Thus, the paper cast doubt on previous studies that indicate that striking rural-urban differences manifest in party system fragmentation in African elections and attribute it to previous studies’ measure of rurality. The paper argues that the use of a composite measure of rurality instead of singular measures of rurality might provide better analysis that helps us understand the effect of rurality on party systems. Also, it argues that in the study of the rural-urban difference in voting behaviour or political behaviours more broadly, data should be aggregated based on cities and non-city areas because cities have distinctive urban characters compared with non-city places. Analyses done on states or constituencies level may not reveal the rural-urban difference because states and constituencies usually have a mix of rural and urban population and other characteristics.

Segmental Volatility in Ethnically Divided Societies: (Re)assessing Party System Stability in Southeast Europe

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Damir Kapidžić ◽  
Olivera Komar
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Party System ◽  
Ethnically Diverse ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
East European ◽  
Ethnic Parties ◽  
Stabilizing Factors

Abstract This article examines the role of ethnicity and ethnic parties as stabilizing factors in Southeast European party systems. It compares two ethnically divided countries in Southeast Europe: Bosnia and Herzegovina, where ethnic identities that form the political cleavage are firm, and Montenegro, where they are malleable. Theoretically, it addresses the debate between scholars who either find stability or instability in East European post-communist party systems. The article traces the role of ethnicity in the formation and development of electoral contests and compares the two cases by utilizing measures of block volatility, based on analysis of official electoral data. We argue that party systems in ethnically diverse countries are stable at the subsystems level, but unstable within them. In BiH, firm ethnic identity stabilizes the party system by limiting competition between blocks, leading to closure. Malleable ethnic identity in Montenegro opens competition to non-ethnic parties seeking to bridge ethnic divisions, leading to more instability. We find that party system dynamics in ethnically divided new democracies depend on identity rigidity and cleavage salience, in addition to levels of heterogeneity.

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