scholarly journals The congealing of a new cleavage? The evolution of the demarcation bloc in Europe (1979–2019)

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-333
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Emanuele ◽  
Bruno Marino ◽  
Davide Angelucci
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Main Dimension ◽  
Long Term Trend

AbstractOver recent years, a new transnational conflict has been deemed to be structuring political conflict in Europe. Several scholars have posited the emergence of a new ‘demarcation’ vs. ‘integration’ cleavage, pitting the ‘losers’ and ‘winners’ of globalization against each other. This new conflict is allegedly structured along economic (free trade and globalization), cultural (immigration and multiculturalism), and institutional [European Union (EU) integration] dimensions. From an empirical viewpoint, it is still a matter of discussion whether this conflict can be interpreted as a new cleavage, which could replace or complement the traditional ones. In this context, the European Parliament (EP) elections of 2019 represent an ideal case for investigating how far this new cleavage has evolved towards structuring political competition in European party systems. In this paper, by relying on an original dataset and an innovative theoretical and empirical framework based on the study of a cleavage's lifecycle, we test whether a demarcation cleavage is structuring the European political systems. Moreover, we assess the evolution of this cleavage across the 28 EU countries since 1979 and the role it plays within each party system. The paper finds that the demarcation cleavage has emerged in most European countries, mobilizing over time a growing number of voters. In particular, this long-term trend has reached its highest peak in the 2019 EP election. However, although the cleavage has become an important (if not the main) dimension of electoral competition in many countries, it has not reached maturity yet.

scholarly journals The impact of full and partial social cleavages on party systems: A comparative analysis of the countries of the former SFRY

Sociologija ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 354-377
Author(s):  
Despot Kovacevic
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Ethnic Relations ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Social Cleavages ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Party Differences ◽  
The Impact

Party systems represent parts of political systems which arise as a result of interactions between political parties. Party relations produce characteristics which place a particular party system within the typology of party systems. A number of factors can be considered in explaining the nature of party competition, most often placed within the categories of institutional and sociostructural factors. This paper analyses the impact of full and partial social cleavages on party systems. Given that the theory of social cleavages has proved insufficient in explaining party differences and the dynamics of party systems, especially in new democracies, we will improve the analysis by including the concept of partial social cleavages. This research shows the unequivocal influence of dominant social cleavages on the situation and changes in party systems. Although in some cases no changes in the type of party system have occurred, it can be concluded that exactly in those cases there exist permanent and ingrained social cleavages, but also partial cleavages which affect the relations in the party system at the given time. Identity issues stand out as the dominant topic in political competition, especially in the countries where ethnic relations have not been resolved.

Party System Nationalization and the Provision of Public Health Services

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen Hicken ◽  
Ken Kollman ◽  
Joel W. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
National Level ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Public Benefits ◽  
Immunization Rates ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Using Data

In this paper, we examine consequences of party system nationalization. We argue that the degree to which party systems are nationalized should affect the provision of public benefits by governments. When political competition at the national level occurs between parties that represent specific sub-national constituencies, then the outcomes of policy debates and conflicts can lead to an undersupply of nationally focused public services. We test our argument using data on DPT and measles immunization rates for 58 countries. We find that low party system nationalization is a barrier to improvements in these health indicators. Specifically, a substantial presence of regionalized parties hinders states’ convergence toward international heath standards.

Party manifestos in newer party systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-313
Author(s):  
Annabella España-Nájera
Keyword(s):  
El Salvador ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Research Note ◽  
New Democracies ◽  
Party Manifestos ◽  
Party System Institutionalization ◽  
Method Of Production

This research note analyses the role that party manifestos play in El Salvador and Guatemala, two newer democracies. In recent elections, the importance of manifestos has increased in both systems. This study examines this development. It explores the ‘ why’s’ (purpose) and ‘ how’s’ (the method of production) of party manifestos to learn more about the internal workings of parties and their relationship with society. The findings from this study suggest that in new democracies, international party assistance programmes can play a crucial role in making manifestos relevant. Whether manifestos enhance democracy in the long term, however, depends on party system institutionalization. These results point to an opportunity for research in new and younger party systems.

How Does May’s Law Work in Multi-dimensional Competition? Intra-party Opinion Structure in Catalonia

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Montserrat Baras ◽  
Oscar Barberà ◽  
Astrid Barrio ◽  
Juan Rodríguez-Teruel
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Competition

AbstractThis article explores how multi-dimensional competition party systems shape the intraparty opinion structure in political parties. The aim is to extend and test May’s law of ideological curvilinear disparity to multi-dimensional settings. The data are based on the case of Catalonia, a party system characterized by the relevant presence of non-state wide parties, where political competition is based on two main dimensions: the left right axis and the subjective national identity one. The paper shows that while the Catalan parties do fit with May’s law in the left-right axis, this is not the case in the national identity one. In addition, it further illustrates how the interaction between both axes affects party competition and internal opinion differences between leaders, activists and voters. The results attest the complexity of the intraparty opinion structures in multidimensional competition systems.

Translating Social Cleavages into Party Systems: The Significance of New Democracies

2002 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Zielinski
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Party System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
New Democracies ◽  
Theoretic Model ◽  
Social Cleavages ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Game Theoretic ◽  
Social Cleavage

This article focuses on new democracies in Eastern Europe and addresses two questions about the translation of social cleavages into political oppositions. The first question concerns the translation of preexisting cleavages: does the evolution of new party systems influence the politicization of social conflicts? The second question concerns the translation of new social cleavages, that is, cleavages that emerge once a party system freezes: can a new social cleavage be politicized? To answer these questions, the article integrates a formalization of social cleavage theory with a game-theoretic model of a new party system. The first result is that translation of preexisting cleavages depends on which parties survive the early rounds of electoral competition. In fact, depending on which parties survive, the axis of political conflict can shift by 90 degrees. This implies that party systems in new democracies should be seen as important founding moments, during which political actors determine the long-term axes of political conflict. The second result is that once a party system freezes, the politicization of a new social cleavage is difficult. Indeed, it is possible that a new social cleavage will remain politically dormant. In the context of Eastern Europe, this result suggests that political salience of class conflict is likely to be low because competitive elections and political parties predate the entrenchment of propertyowning classes.

Dimensions of political conflict in West and East

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuel Coman
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Optimal Classification ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Main Dimension ◽  
Theoretical Side

This paper brings theoretical and empirical contributions to the scholarship on dimensions of politics in Europe. On the theoretical side it emphasizes the differences between Western and Eastern countries; we argue that while in Western Europe the main dimension of political conflict is the economic left-right, in Eastern Europe the main dimension is more likely to encompass cultural issues associated primarily with what in the Western literature is known as the secondary, social left-right. We trace the origin of the difference to the 1990s when parties in Eastern Europe chose to emphasize cultural issues to appeal to an electorate unfamiliar with capitalist economics and dissatisfied with the economic left associated with Communism and the economic right associated with painful reforms. To test this assertion we apply the Optimal Classification vote scaling method to an original dataset of over 24,000 votes from 22 European parliaments; the statistical tests support the hypothesis.

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.

Parties and Pressure Groups in Weimar and Bonn

1965 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 635-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles E. Frye
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
Third Reich ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Pressure Groups ◽  
Group Politics ◽  
The Third Reich ◽  
The One

In the last forty years, Germany has had three radically different political systems. In each case, the party system, better than any other single index, reflects the style of politics of that period. The highly splintered, multiparty system of Weimar mirrors perfectly the extreme ideological dissension and radicalism of postwar German politics. The one-party system of the Third Reich epitomizes the attempt to destroy the individual's traditional social ties and then to absorb him totally in a coordinated movement. Finally, the two-party system of Bonn reflects the growing social and political consensus concerning the more pragmatic and concrete political goals of postHitlerian Germany. Although these three political systems are intimately related, the main question for us is why the democratic party systems of Weimar and Bonn are so different. The party systems are unintelligible, however, without an understanding of the patterns of pressure-group politics as well.

The Nationalization of political parties and party systems in post-communist Eastern Europe

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 77-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Tiemann
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Ethnic Cleansing ◽  
World War ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Nation States

Party system nationalization is a crucial aspect of political competition. The territories of Eastern Europe have often been characterized by outstanding levels of territorial heterogeneity. However, during and after World War II ethnic cleansing and forced migration resulted in more homogeneous nation states, and these trends were significantly reinforced by bureaucratic, centralized communist rule. I present a systematic empirical assessment of party and party system homogeneity or heterogeneity in post-communist Eastern Europe and will discuss some major macrosociological and institutional factors determining the degree of party and party system nationalization such as the political consequences of social diversity and political cleavages, legacies of the communist regimes, electoral systems, and federalism.

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