Three Worlds of Representation: A Linkage-Based Typology of Parties in Western and Eastern Europe

Abstract

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 Have Eastern European democracies developed patterns of accountability similar to those existent in their established counterparts? While most accounts of convergence are confined to the world of programmatic reasoning and policy representation, we use a unique data set to cover the wealth of instrumental and emotional modes of linkage building. We apply advanced techniques of model-based cluster analysis to establish a linkage-based typology of political parties. In the East, the contrast of programmatic and clientelistic parties is most essential in the absence of strong regional subdivisions. In the West, the structure of linkage building is characterized by an all-encompassing divide that separates mainstream and challenger parties. Parties in Southern Europe form a distinct Mediterranean type of “machine politics.” The results for affluent post-industrial societies both support and contradict premises of the cartel party hypothesis. For third-wave democracies in the East, our results suggest the persistence of legacies of pre-communist and communist rule against the weight of cumulative democratic experience. In sum, patterns of accountability remained markedly different in the two regions on the eve of the economic crisis in 2008–2009.

Different worlds of contention? Protest in Northwestern, Southern and Eastern Europe

“…2020) that examine differences across the European regions. Regarding party systems, this literature has confirmed differences in patterns of competition and the degree of institutionalisation across Northwestern, Southern and Eastern Europe; leading to different forms of linkages between citizens and their representatives (Wineroither & Seeber 2018). For protest, the take‐away message is more ambiguous.…”

Parties and Linkages in the Slovak Party System: An Overview

“…The essence of the conclusion reached by Kitschelt and his collaborators was that "the extent to which party competition in Eastern European countries is programmatically structured (rather than based on clientelism or around leaders' charismatic features) should vary according to legacies of pre--communist and communist rule." (Wineroither -Seeber 2018) The prevalence of programmatic party competition in party platforms that are largely socio--economic, accompanied by the adoption of a programmatic linkage by the parties, presents a considerably better prospect for democratic consolidation in general and party system stability in particular.…”

“…Secondly, we propose our own set of "linkage profiles" for relevant political parties in the history of Slovak party competition. Finally, referring to more recent work in the Kitscheltian tradition, that of Wineroither and Seeber (2018), we check whether the results of their linkage -based typology of parties matches the Slovak situation during the three decades of democratic development. We do this by considering the results of the unique Democratic Accountability and Linkages Project (DALP 2008(DALP -2009 database.…”

“…Methodologically, when analysing party politics in terms of party linkages it is necessary to recognize that practically all parties combine more than one linkage in their efforts to approach voters (Kitschelt 2000;Wineroither -Seeber 2018). We therefore rarely observe a party adopting only one linkage in such an exclusive way that it exhausts its "essence".…”

“…Related to this, linkages do not constitute party types or, vice versa, conceptual party types should not be based on an analysis of the linkages employed by parties. Wineroither and Seeber (2018) identified several empirical types of political parties based on their use of linkage mechanisms as a form of democratic accountability, but none of these types was based on the exclusive usage of one specific linkage by the parties involved.…”