Perspectives on political party death: theorizing and testing Downsian and sociological rationales

Abstract

Which of the new political parties that emerged in advanced democracies faded away and which ones managed to survive and why? Considering a party as dead once it ceases to nominate candidates in any elections, we develop two sets of hypotheses to account for party death derived from two conceptions of political parties. One conceptualizes parties as vehicles formed by career-oriented politicians eager to maximize individual rewards. Failure to deliver seats or government access is therefore expected to predict an earlier death. The other conceptualizes parties as societal organizations that serve representational functions valued in themselves by elites and members alike. This conception stresses the importance of roots in society or ideological novelty. Using survival analysis, we test our hypotheses in 17 advanced democracies based on a new data set covering 144 new parties from birth until their (potential) death. Arguments derived from both conceptions have significant support stressing the complexity of the drivers underpinning parties’ very existence.

One More Time? Parties’ Repeated Electoral Entry in Younger Democracies

“…That being said, the literature on repeated entry mostly limits itself to explaining whether a party continues to run as an independent organization (e.g., Bakke and Sitter 2015; Bolleyer, Ibenskas, and Bischoff 2019; van de Wardt, Berkhout, and Vermeulen 2017). Yet scholars increasingly acknowledge that they can do so or stop doing so in different ways.…”

New Parties: Game Changers or ‘Much Ado About Nothing'?

“…The emergence of new parties is ‘business as usual’ in Danish Parliament elections. Of the 26 elections held since 1950, only 10 have not included a newcomer (Bolleyer et al 2019). That three new parties formed for one election is unusual, and had not happened since 1987.…”

Det danske partisystem mellem kontinuitet og forandring

“…De er begge udtryk for en nyere type af personlige partier, der er skabt for at fremme partistifteren/ernes politiske karriere (Kefford og McDonnell, 2018). International forskning viser, at denne type parti lever kortere end traditionelle partier, hvis lederen ikke bliver politisk valgt (Bolleyer, Ibenskas og Bischoff, 2019). Det er partier, der har svaert ved at opretholde deres eksistens uden partistifteren, og dermed også partier, der ikke som kernen i det danske partisystem forventes at vaere blivende aktører i det danske partisystem.…”