Change in the Italian party system

Res Publica ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-294
Author(s):  
Luciano Bardi
Keyword(s):  
Structural Change ◽  
Party System ◽  
System Change ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Organizational Adaptation ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Party Organization ◽  
System Transformation ◽  
System Characteristics

The article attempts to trace the origins and to assess the extent ofparty-system change in Italy in the 1990s. It also examines some hypotheses on the possible causes of such changes. Building on research on anti-party sentiment and on changes in party organization the paper begins with an analysis of the evolution of the party system in the last 30 years which identifies organizational adaptation as a delaying factor in party system change. This is followed by a description of the party system after the 1994 elections based on generally accepted party system characteristics and indicators (volatility, number ofparties, ideological distance) . The assessment is made difficult by the, perhaps temporary, coexistence of two party-systems, respectively relevant for electoral and inter-election competition. The evidence however, suggests, that party-system transformation is under way, while it might still be inappropriate to talk about structural change. Degeneration of parties and a deep institutional crisis appear to be the factors leading to the explosion of pent-up alienation and antiparty sentiments, and to demands for institutional and constitutional change that preceded and appeared to be the immediate causes of party system transformation.

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.

The Referendum and the Transformation of the Party System

Modern Italy ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
System Transformation

Wholesale party system transformation is exceedingly rare. Indeed, in taking place within a broadly democratic framework and independently of constitutional change Italy's experience is probably unique. This paper argues that the referendums of 1991 and 1993, and the mobilization of the electorate from early 1990 associated with them, played a significant and not always well understood role in the transformation of the Italian party system.

Politics of Intraexecutive Conflict in Semipresidential Regimes in Eastern Europe

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleh Protsyk
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Party System ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
The Political ◽  
Prime Ministers ◽  
East European ◽  
Conflict And Cooperation ◽  
Political Status ◽  
System Characteristics

This article analyzes the patterns of intraexecutive conflict and cooperation in East European democracies that adopted semipresidential constitutional frameworks. It explores how the coexistence of popularly elected presidents and prime ministers is shaped by constitutional provisions, parliamentary fragmentation, and party system characteristics. The article emphasizes a critical role that party systems play in the evolution of intraexecutive relations across the region. It argues that variations in the political status of the cabinet, in the character of parliamentary composition, and in the constitutional powers of the president affect both the type and frequency of intraexecutive conflict experienced by semipresidential regimes.

scholarly journals The determinants of Party System Change in Sub-Saharan Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-129
Author(s):  
Riccardo Pelizzo
Keyword(s):  
Social Transformation ◽  
Party System ◽  
System Change ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Primary Driver ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Stability

This article examines what socio-economic factors are conducive to changes in the patterns of inter-party competition in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The literature has in recent years paid considerable attention to measuring party system change, to identifying the consequences of party system instability for the proper functioning of democratic regimes, and to understanding what factors are responsible for the instability of party systems. In contrast to previous studies that view political change in general and party system change more specifically as the result of social transformation, development, modernization and change in the cleavage structure, this paper shows instead that poverty is the primary driver of party system change in the SSA region. In countries with high levels of poverty, political elites do enjoy little to no performance-based legitimacy. The lack of performance-based legitimacy is the reason why voters in such countries are willing to alter their voting habits and parties are unable to preserve their electoral fortunes over time—which is precisely why party systems do change. The literature showed that stable party systems are good for democracy. This paper shows that to enhance the stability of party system in SSA, poverty has to be reduced and possibly eradicated.

scholarly journals Bridging the Divide: Measuring Party System Change and Classifying Party Systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1017-1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Pelizzo ◽  
Zim Nwokora
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
System Change ◽  
Party Systems

scholarly journals Dominican Party System Continuity amid Regional Transformations: Economic Policy, Clientelism, and Migration Flows

2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Morgan ◽  
Jonathan Hartlyn ◽  
Rosario Espinal
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Party System ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
System Change ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Comparative Historical Analysis ◽  
Migration Flows ◽  
And Migration ◽  
American Party

AbstractIn the 1980s and 1990s, economic crisis produced ideological convergence in many Latin American party systems. Much scholarship explores how this convergence frequently provoked system change that enabled renewed ideological differentiation, but little research examines instances where convergence persisted without destabilizing the system. Through comparative historical analysis of Dominican continuity amid regional change, this study identifies factors that sustain or challenge party systems. Then, through analysis of Americas Barometer surveys, it assesses the causal mechanisms through which these factors shape support for the traditional Dominican parties. The findings demonstrate that maintaining programmatic and clientelist linkages facilitates continuity. In addition, the article argues that the threats political outsiders pose to existing party systems are constrained when people excluded from the system are divided and demobilized. In the Dominican case, Haitian immigration divides the popular sector while Dominicans abroad sustain ties to the parties, with both migration flows facilitating party system continuity.

scholarly journals Adapt or Perish? How Parties Respond to Party System Saturation in 21 Western Democracies, 1945–2011

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc van de Wardt ◽  
Arjen van Witteloostuijn
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Party System ◽  
System Change ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
Effective Number ◽  
Effective Number Of Parties ◽  
Time Series Analyses ◽  
Number Of Parties ◽  
Western Democracies

Abstract This study examines whether (and how) parties adapt to party system saturation (PSS). A party system is oversaturated when a higher effective number of parties contests elections than predicted. Previous research has shown that parties are more likely to exit when party systems are oversaturated. This article examines whether parties will adapt by increasing the nicheness of their policy platform, by forming electoral alliances or by merging. Based on time-series analyses of 522 parties contesting 357 elections in twenty-one established Western democracies between 1945 and 2011, the study finds that parties are more likely to enter – and less likely to leave – electoral alliances if PSS increases. Additionally, a small share of older parties will merge. The results highlight parties’ limited capacity to adapt to their environments, which has important implications for the literature on party (system) change and models of electoral competition.

From Thaw to Deluge: Party System Collapse in Venezuela and Peru

2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry A. Dietz ◽  
David J. Myers
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
System Change ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Viable Alternative ◽  
Sequential Process ◽  
System Collapse ◽  
Personal Authority ◽  
Party System Institutionalization

AbstractWhat conditions facilitate party system collapse, the farthest-reaching variant of party system change? How does collapse occur? Numerous studies of lesser types of party system change exist, but studies of party system collapse are rare. This study draws on the existing literature and the cases of party system collapse in Venezuela (1988–2000) and Peru (1985–95) to advance some answers to the important questions about the phenomenon. The study posits three conditions that predispose political party systems to collapse: the presence of an acute or sustained crisis that questions the ability of system-sustaining political parties to govern; extremely low or extremely high levels of party system institutionalization; and the emergence of an anti-establishment figure with the desire and personal authority to generate a viable alternative to the established party system. The study also posits a three-election sequential process during which collapse takes place.

scholarly journals Populism, Democracy, and Party System Change in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Milada Anna Vachudova
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
System Change ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
Chapel Hill

How has populism transformed party systems in Europe? I survey the varieties of populism, the sources of their support and the different ways that they appeal to voters. I use data from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey to explore whether populist parties are intensifying competition on the cultural dimension, accelerating the decline of mainstream parties, and increasing polarization. I argue that while left and center populist parties have upended existing structures of competition, it is longstanding conservative parties, remodeled using ethnopopulism, that have been the most consequential for the substance of political competition and the trajectory of domestic politics. I consider the behavior of incumbents and argue that varieties of populism should shape our expectations of what happens when populists rule: While left populist parties in power over the last decade have tended to become more ordinary, sometimes even shedding antiestablishment and anti-EU positions, ethnopopulist parties in power have used harsh “us-versus-them” appeals, misinformation, and democratic backsliding in their pursuit of more power. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 24 is May 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

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