Rein Taagepera
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287741
- eISBN:
- 9780191713408
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287741.003.0017
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
We now expect to be able to fine-tune simple electoral laws to effect party systems and government stability positively, but we still need to be cautious. We should not expect to be able to tailor ...
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We now expect to be able to fine-tune simple electoral laws to effect party systems and government stability positively, but we still need to be cautious. We should not expect to be able to tailor complex electoral laws to desired goals. In institutional design, we need to consider marginal adjustments rather than flipping to completely different electoral laws. We should consider keeping the same electoral laws for at least three elections before changing them. Political science has been an intellectual field separate from politics, but the two may now start to connect, thanks to advances in the study of electoral systems and party systems.Less
We now expect to be able to fine-tune simple electoral laws to effect party systems and government stability positively, but we still need to be cautious. We should not expect to be able to tailor complex electoral laws to desired goals. In institutional design, we need to consider marginal adjustments rather than flipping to completely different electoral laws. We should consider keeping the same electoral laws for at least three elections before changing them. Political science has been an intellectual field separate from politics, but the two may now start to connect, thanks to advances in the study of electoral systems and party systems.
Catherine E. De Vries and Sara B. Hobolt
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780691194752
- eISBN:
- 9780691206547
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691194752.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter highlights the impact of the rise of challenger parties on both representation and responsible government. It begins by examining whether voters are more mobilized and feel more ...
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This chapter highlights the impact of the rise of challenger parties on both representation and responsible government. It begins by examining whether voters are more mobilized and feel more represented in systems with greater choice and more challenger parties. The chapter also looks at how the rise of a new challenger, the Alternative for Germany, on the far right in German politics has had a mobilizing effect on citizens. It then turns to the effect on government stability. The chapter shows that it is more difficult to form a government as the share of challenger parties rises and, importantly, the governments that are formed are less stable. Finally, it discusses the specific examples of government formation in Belgium and government instability in the Netherlands.Less
This chapter highlights the impact of the rise of challenger parties on both representation and responsible government. It begins by examining whether voters are more mobilized and feel more represented in systems with greater choice and more challenger parties. The chapter also looks at how the rise of a new challenger, the Alternative for Germany, on the far right in German politics has had a mobilizing effect on citizens. It then turns to the effect on government stability. The chapter shows that it is more difficult to form a government as the share of challenger parties rises and, importantly, the governments that are formed are less stable. Finally, it discusses the specific examples of government formation in Belgium and government instability in the Netherlands.
Csaba Nikolenyi
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199675302
- eISBN:
- 9780191755323
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199675302.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The ten post-communist democracies vary considerably in terms of the stability and duration of their governments. In some states, such as Hungary, the government that is formed and invested in office ...
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The ten post-communist democracies vary considerably in terms of the stability and duration of their governments. In some states, such as Hungary, the government that is formed and invested in office after the election tends to last for the entire or nearly the entire term of the legislature. Elsewhere, such as Latvia, post-elections governments never last for a long time. This chapter examines how the set of political institutions that disperse or concentrate political power in the electoral, legislative and executive arenas of party competition affect government duration. The central finding of this chapter is the several institutions that disperse political power also reduce cabinet duration: specifically, bicameralism, a more powerful presidency, and negative government formation rules. In addition, government stability inversely varies with the fragmentation of the legislative party system, and both majority and post-election governments are more stable than minority and later mid-term cabinets.Less
The ten post-communist democracies vary considerably in terms of the stability and duration of their governments. In some states, such as Hungary, the government that is formed and invested in office after the election tends to last for the entire or nearly the entire term of the legislature. Elsewhere, such as Latvia, post-elections governments never last for a long time. This chapter examines how the set of political institutions that disperse or concentrate political power in the electoral, legislative and executive arenas of party competition affect government duration. The central finding of this chapter is the several institutions that disperse political power also reduce cabinet duration: specifically, bicameralism, a more powerful presidency, and negative government formation rules. In addition, government stability inversely varies with the fragmentation of the legislative party system, and both majority and post-election governments are more stable than minority and later mid-term cabinets.
Catherine E. De Vries and Sara B. Hobolt
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780691194752
- eISBN:
- 9780691206547
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691194752.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Challenger parties are on the rise in Europe, exemplified by the likes of Podemos in Spain, the National Rally in France, the Alternative for Germany, or the Brexit Party in Great Britain. Like ...
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Challenger parties are on the rise in Europe, exemplified by the likes of Podemos in Spain, the National Rally in France, the Alternative for Germany, or the Brexit Party in Great Britain. Like disruptive entrepreneurs, these parties offer new policies and defy the dominance of established party brands. In the face of these challenges and a more volatile electorate, mainstream parties are losing their grip on power. This book explores why some challenger parties are so successful and what mainstream parties can do to confront these political entrepreneurs. Drawing analogies with how firms compete, the book demonstrates that political change is as much about the ability of challenger parties to innovate as it is about the inability of dominant parties to respond. Challenger parties employ two types of innovation to break established party dominance: they mobilize new issues, such as immigration, the environment, and Euroscepticism, and they employ antiestablishment rhetoric to undermine mainstream party appeal. Unencumbered by government experience, challenger parties adapt more quickly to shifting voter tastes and harness voter disenchantment. Delving into strategies of dominance versus innovation, the authors explain why European party systems have remained stable for decades, but also why they are now increasingly under strain. As challenger parties continue to seek to disrupt the existing order, the book shows that their ascendency fundamentally alters government stability and democratic politics.Less
Challenger parties are on the rise in Europe, exemplified by the likes of Podemos in Spain, the National Rally in France, the Alternative for Germany, or the Brexit Party in Great Britain. Like disruptive entrepreneurs, these parties offer new policies and defy the dominance of established party brands. In the face of these challenges and a more volatile electorate, mainstream parties are losing their grip on power. This book explores why some challenger parties are so successful and what mainstream parties can do to confront these political entrepreneurs. Drawing analogies with how firms compete, the book demonstrates that political change is as much about the ability of challenger parties to innovate as it is about the inability of dominant parties to respond. Challenger parties employ two types of innovation to break established party dominance: they mobilize new issues, such as immigration, the environment, and Euroscepticism, and they employ antiestablishment rhetoric to undermine mainstream party appeal. Unencumbered by government experience, challenger parties adapt more quickly to shifting voter tastes and harness voter disenchantment. Delving into strategies of dominance versus innovation, the authors explain why European party systems have remained stable for decades, but also why they are now increasingly under strain. As challenger parties continue to seek to disrupt the existing order, the book shows that their ascendency fundamentally alters government stability and democratic politics.
Csaba Nikolenyi
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199675302
- eISBN:
- 9780191755323
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199675302.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This book examines the institutional foundations of coalition government in the ten post-communist democracies of Eastern and Central Europe for the 1990-2010 period: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, ...
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This book examines the institutional foundations of coalition government in the ten post-communist democracies of Eastern and Central Europe for the 1990-2010 period: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Its central argument is that differences in the arrangement of political institutions systematically explain variations in patterns of multi-party government across these states. The book starts with the premise that electoral systems and constitutional provisions on the powers, the structure, and the relationship between parliament and the presidency determine the degree to which political power is dispersed or concentrated in the political system. On the basis of these institutional features, three groups of states are distinguished with regard to their degree of power concentration; the substantive chapters of the book demonstrate how these institutional combinations and differences shape three specific facets of party government which capture the main stages of the lifecycle of coalitions governments: the formation of electoral coalitions, government formation and government duration. Specifically, three comparative chapters assess the impact of institutional power concentration on the size of electoral coalitions; the likelihood that political parties form a minority government; and the number of days that a government lasts in office. The main finding of the book is that power concentration matters: political parties in those democracies where institutions are designed to concentrate political power tend to form large electoral coalitions, they tend to form majority rather than undersized governments, and they build more durable cabinets. In addition, the book contains a detailed case study of government formation in Hungary and a previously unstudied comparison of indirect presidential elections in four states: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Latvia.Less
This book examines the institutional foundations of coalition government in the ten post-communist democracies of Eastern and Central Europe for the 1990-2010 period: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Its central argument is that differences in the arrangement of political institutions systematically explain variations in patterns of multi-party government across these states. The book starts with the premise that electoral systems and constitutional provisions on the powers, the structure, and the relationship between parliament and the presidency determine the degree to which political power is dispersed or concentrated in the political system. On the basis of these institutional features, three groups of states are distinguished with regard to their degree of power concentration; the substantive chapters of the book demonstrate how these institutional combinations and differences shape three specific facets of party government which capture the main stages of the lifecycle of coalitions governments: the formation of electoral coalitions, government formation and government duration. Specifically, three comparative chapters assess the impact of institutional power concentration on the size of electoral coalitions; the likelihood that political parties form a minority government; and the number of days that a government lasts in office. The main finding of the book is that power concentration matters: political parties in those democracies where institutions are designed to concentrate political power tend to form large electoral coalitions, they tend to form majority rather than undersized governments, and they build more durable cabinets. In addition, the book contains a detailed case study of government formation in Hungary and a previously unstudied comparison of indirect presidential elections in four states: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Latvia.