Core persistence: Change and the ‘people's party’

Smith, Gordon

doi:10.1080/01402388908424769

Cited by 82 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…14. Hence, this use of the term is similar to Smith's (1990) two-part definition of the 'core' of the party system as the main political parties and the structure of alliances between these parties, and to the use of the term in game theoretic literature (in party competition to define the pareto-set of viable policy coalitions (cf. Budge & Laver 1992).…”

Section: European Coordination Of Green Parties (Ecgp)/european Federmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dimensions and alignments in european union politics: Cognitive constraints and partisan responses

Hix

1999

European J Political Res

357

219

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As the European Union (EU) has evolved, the study agenda has shifted from 'European integration' to 'EU politics'. Missing from this new agenda, however, is an understanding of the 'cognitive constraints' on actors and how actors respond, i.e. the shape of the EU 'political space' and the location of social groups and competition between actors within this space. The article develops a theoretical framework for understanding the shape of the EU political space (the interaction between an Integration-Independence and Left-Right dimension and the location of class and sectoral groups within this map), and tests this framework on the policy positions of the Socialist, Christian Democrat and Liberal party leaders between 1976 and 1994 (using the techniques of the ECPR Party Manifestos Group Project). The research finds that the two dimensions were salient across the whole period, explains why the party families converged on pro-European positions by the 1990s and discovers the emergence of a triangular 'core' of EU politics.

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Section: European Coordination Of Green Parties (Ecgp)/european Federmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dimensions and alignments in european union politics: Cognitive constraints and partisan responses

Hix

1999

European J Political Res

357

219

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“…For example, Ian Budge and David Robertson examined political parties' election programmes in 19 democracies and concluded that 'the generalizability and predominance of the left-right cleavage has been resoundingly confirmed' (Budge & Robertson 1987: 393). Other scholars have pointed out that the left-right continuum not only captures traditional economic policy conflicts (Beyme 1985;Crepaz 1990;Hazan 1997;Laponce 1981;Mair 1997;Sani & Sartori 1983;Smith 1989), but also its flexibility and 'catch-all character' (Mair 1997: 26). Thus, the left-right continuum is an overall dimension capturing a 'multitude of different political conflicts' (Beyme 1985: 257).…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges to established parties: The effects of party system features on the electoral fortunes of anti‐political‐establishment parties

Abedi

2002

European J Political Res

166

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The rise of parties that challenge the political establishment has recently sparked the interest of political scientists. Scholars have identified several factors that lie behind the success of such anti-political-establishment parties. Most empirical studies, however, have concentrated their attention either on the importance of electoral system features or on the effects of socioeconomic conditions. This article focuses instead on the role that party system factors play in the electoral success of these parties. Using three data sets from studies conducted in three different time periods it tests two seemingly contradictory hypotheses. On the one hand, the claim that where the established parties have converged toward centrist positions and thus fail to present voters with an identity that is noticeably different from their established competitors, the electorate will be more susceptible to the markedly different policies put forward by anti-political-establishment parties. On the other hand, there is the argument that these parties profit more from increasing polarization and the subsequent enlargement of the political space than from a convergence toward the median. The results of the analyses show that anti-political-establishment parties generally profit from a close positioning of the establishment parties on the left-right scale. However, there is no consistent support for the notion that party system polarization by itself is associated with an increase in the support for parties that challenge the political establishment. Theoretical background and methodologyThe literature that deals with parties and party systems from a comparative perspective has grown considerably in recent years. Many studies have included party system features as their independent or dependent variables in analyses of party system change.

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“…They had begun to depart the fringe to join the ever-expanding ranks of governing parties, finally becoming part of what Gordon Smith once defined as 'the core' of a variety of different party systems. 2 The innovative Red-Green alliance in Germany may in this sense be read as offering further and even more compelling evidence of the dawn of a new era. 3 Perhaps so.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Green Challenge and Political Competition: How Typical is the German Experience?

Mair¹

2001

German Politics

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Core persistence: Change and the ‘people's party’

Cited by 82 publications

References 3 publications

Dimensions and alignments in european union politics: Cognitive constraints and partisan responses

Dimensions and alignments in european union politics: Cognitive constraints and partisan responses

Challenges to established parties: The effects of party system features on the electoral fortunes of anti‐political‐establishment parties

The Green Challenge and Political Competition: How Typical is the German Experience?

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