Currently Functioning European Party Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 52-82
Author(s):  
Fernando Casal Bértoa ◽  
Zsolt Enyedi
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
System Type ◽  
History Of

This chapter presents the profile and the condensed history of the 41 currently functioning party systems. Here we discuss the dynamics of the changes, and relate them to the ideological configurations and alliance structures. We show that the changes in closure figures indicate well the transformations of party politics, we link developments in the governmental arena to the conflicts in the party system in general, and we associate each party system with a specific trajectory of closure development and a specific party system type. We show how the plurality of currently functioning party systems fit into a bipolar configuration that puts them on track towards a robust path of continuous stabilization until reaching full systemic institutionalization.

Historical (i.e. Defunct) European Party Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 86-105
Author(s):  
Fernando Casal Bértoa ◽  
Zsolt Enyedi
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
System Type ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Level

The fourth chapter presents the profile and the condensed history of the 21 historical party systems that ceased to be democratic. Here we discuss the dynamics of the changes, and relate them to the ideological configurations and alliance structures. We show that the changes in closure figures indicate well the transformations of party politics, we link developments in the governmental arena to the conflicts in the party system in general, and we associate each party system with a specific trajectory of closure development and a specific party system type. We show how, in clear contrast to currently functioning European party systems, the plurality of historical party systems fit into a multi-polar configuration that impeded them from reaching higher levels of systemic stability. Tellingly, we find no instances of consistent growth and high-level stabilization or grand coalitions. Two-party and two-plus-one party systems, so common in currently functioning party systems, were also extremely rare among the collapsed systems.

Institutionalizing Party Systems in Multiethnic States: Integration and Ethnic Segmentation in Czechoslovakia, 1918-1992

Slavic Review ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Skalnik Leff ◽  
Susan B. Mikula
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Federal State ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Institutional Rules ◽  
Political Resources ◽  
Multiethnic States

A country’s multinational diversity does not by itself predict the way this diversity will be reflected in the party system. The pattern of party politics also depends on the context: electoral and institutional rules, differential political assets, and different incentives to cooperate or dissent. To demonstrate variations in the dynamics of ethnic politics, this article examines the divergent ways in which Slovak political parties were organized within the larger political system in two periods—the interwar unitary Czechoslovak state and the postcommunist federal state. Differences in political resources and institutional setting help explain why interwar Slovakia had a hybrid party system composed of both statewide and ethnoregional parties, while the postcommunist state saw the emergence of two entirely separate party systems in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In turn, differing patterns of party politics in these two cases had different consequences for the management of ethnonational conflict in the state.

14. Europeanization, Euroscepticism, and Politicization in Party Politics

2020 ◽  
pp. 331-353
Author(s):  
Paul Taggart
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Member States ◽  
History Of ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Eu

The development of European integration has meant that member states have experienced Europeanization and as a consequence the EU has become a more politicized issue in domestic politics. Politicization has come over time and as a consequence of the decline of a permissive consensus and takes some very different forms. The chapter considers the place of the domestic politicization of European integration in theories of European integration and then reviews different periods of the history of European integration, highlighting the growing phenomena of Europeanization and politicization. The chapter then looks at Euroscepticism and its meaning and different forms and identifying which parties can currently be identified as Eurosceptic and what issues Euroscepticism blends with in different member states. The chapter then offers a typology for understanding the different ways in which the politicization of European integration plays out in the party systems of member states.

The post-crisis Irish voter

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
New Parties ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
University Courses ◽  
National Election Study ◽  
History Of ◽  
Established Democracies ◽  
Unique Dataset ◽  
Cross National

This is the definitive study of the Irish general election of 2016 – the most dramatic election in a generation, which among other things resulted in the worst electoral outcome for Ireland’s established parties, the most fractionalized party system in the history of the state, and the emergence of new parties and groups, some of these of a ‘populist’ hue. This was one of the most volatile elections in Ireland (and among one of the most volatile elections in Europe), with among the lowest of election turnouts in the state’s history. These outcomes follow a pattern seen across a number of Western Europe’s established democracies in which the ‘deep crisis’ of the Great Recession has wreaked havoc on party systems. The objective of this book is to assess this most extraordinary of Irish elections both in its Irish and wider cross-national context. With contributions from leading scholars on Irish elections and parties, and using a unique dataset – the Irish National Election Study (INES) 2016 – this volume explores voting patterns at Ireland’s first post crisis election and it considers the implications for the electoral landscape and politics in Ireland. This book will be of interest to scholars of parties and elections. It should provide important supplementary reading to any university courses on Irish politics. And it should also be of interest to general readers interested in contemporary Irish affairs.

scholarly journals Med begom pred sovjetsko preteklostjo in vračanjem vanjo. Stranke in volitve v Ukrajini in Belorusiji med leti 1989 in 2013

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2019) (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleš Maver ◽  
Darko Friš ◽  
Gorazd Bajc
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Scientific Paper ◽  
English Summary ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of ◽  
Base Of Support

Category: 1.01 Original scientific paper Language: Original in Slovene (Abstract in Slovene and English, Summary in English) Key words: history of Ukraine, history of Belarus, party systems, political parties, Yulia Tymoshenko, Rukh movement, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Communist parties in post-Soviet countries, politics of the post-Soviet environments Synopsis: The development of respective party systems in Ukraine and Belarus immediately before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union could hardly be more different. In Ukraine a solid party system was slow to emerge. Different historical experiences and cultural features in various parts of the country as well as strong linking of political groupings to particular personalities or rather economic power groups prevented formation of stable parties with firm base of support in all regions of Ukraine. The divide between east and west, established already in 1994 and reinforced during the presidential election in 2004, has remained the main feature of Ukrainian politics until today. Belarus, on the other hand, can be seen as a country where political parties exert the weakest influence in all Europe. Animosity towards party politics has been rooted in Soviet traditions, but it has also been systematically encouraged by the president Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime.

Institutionalization and De-institutionalization in Post-communist Party Systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 422-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsolt Enyedi ◽  
Fernando Casal Bértoa
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The West ◽  
Electoral Volatility ◽  
Lively Debate ◽  
East West

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 In an article written in 1995 titled “What Is Different about Postcommunist Party Systems?” Peter Mair applied the method that he called “ ex adverso extrapolation.” He matched his knowledge of the process of consolidation of party systems in the West with what was known at that time about Eastern European history, society, and the emerging post-communist party politics. Considering factors such as the existence of fluid social structures, the weakness of civil society, or the destabilizing impact of the so-called triple transition, his article predicted long-term instability for the region. In the present article, we evaluate the validity of Mair’s predictions, thereby also contributing to a lively debate in the current literature about the scale and nature of East–West differences and about the trajectories of the two regions. Going beyond the identification of cross-regional similarities and differences, we also differentiate between individual party systems, establish subgroups, and describe changes across time. Using four major dimensions (i.e., party system closure, party-level stability, electoral volatility, and fragmentation), the article finds that Mair’s predictions were largely, though not in every detail, right. Ironically, however, we also find that changes in the West tend to match over time the trajectory of the East.

scholarly journals Converging party systems in Russia and Central Asia: A case of authoritarian norm diffusion?

2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 147-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean P. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Norm Diffusion ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Central Asian Republics

Almost twenty five years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia and several Central Asian republics appear to be converging on what may be termed a ‘hierarchic party system’, characterised by controlled and unequal competition between parties. Addressing the juncture between international politics and party politics, this article explores this convergence and considers Russian authoritarian norm diffusion as a possible explanation. This article argues that although Russia continues to build significant party-based linkage in Central Asia, similarities between party systems are the result of complex, multidirectional norm diffusion, as regimes look to liberalise or close their respective political systems.

Post-Communist Politics: On the Divergence (and/or Convergence) of East and West

2013 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 398-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Casal Bértoa
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
East European ◽  
Collapse Of Communism ◽  
East And West ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Partisan Competition

Adopting Ionescu's qualitative approach to political science, and building on Sartori's definition of party system, this article examines the degree to which European (both East and West) party systems have developed since the collapse of communism in 1990 in all three major areas of partisan competition: parliamentary, governmental and electoral. In this context, this article constitutes, paraphrasing Sartori (1969), an attempt to go ‘from political sociology to the sociology of politics and back’. The main conclusion is that, although two decades have passed, East European party politics continues to be generally characterized by instability and unpredictability at all levels.

scholarly journals Looking at the Stability and Transformation of the Japanese Postwar Party System

1998 ◽  
Vol 13 (0) ◽  
pp. 27-49
Author(s):  
Jong-Won Lee
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Party Dominance ◽  
Near Future

The Japanese political system of 1946-1996 has often been defined by the continuous rule for four decades of the conservative Liberal Democratic party (LDP), which had held a majority of seats in the Diet between its formation in 1955 until it lost its majority in the Upper House (House of Councilors) in 1989. Under the Japanese political milieus, the LDP has been in a position of semi-permanent governance since 1955 except for a few years in the mid-1990s. The first questionable issue, here, is how the LDP had maintained its dominant position during that period and how one-party dominance system had sustained? How had electoral volatility affected the party system change? Can we expect a dramatic change in Japanese politics in near future? In relation to these questions, how can we apply the theories of comparative parties and party systems to 1946-1996 history of Japanese party politics.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TOPIC "POLITICAL PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEMS" IN THE COURSE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

2021 ◽  
pp. 18-24
Author(s):  
I. Yu. Zalysin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
Cognitive Difficulties ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Federation

The article is devoted to the methodology of studying the topic "Political parties and party systems" in the process of studying political science. Its place in the course structure, goals and tasks that need to be solved when considering this topic are shown. The emphasis is placed on the most important and most complex concepts that cause cognitive difficulties for students. Recommendations are given for the consideration of such issues as the history of the emergence of political parties, the functions of parties in modern conditions, the types of parties and party systems. Special attention is paid to the study of the features of the party system in Russia, which is of great practical importance, since it is associated with the real political process, the participation of students in elections as voters, etc. Methodological techniques for analyzing party programs, the place of various parties in the political landscape of the Russian Federation are considered.

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