CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2012
| Author | Jones, Benjamin Rowe |
|---|---|
| Title | Electoral Volatility in Old and New Democracies: Comparing Causes of Party System Institutionalisation |
| Summary | Although interest in party system institutionalisation remains high within the discipline, few scholars have considered what factors may or may not contribute to this phenomenon. This paper attempts to fill this gap in examining the causes of party system institutionalisation through both statistical and case study analyses. Based on the most extensive data assembled, this study finds that contrary to the findings of much of the traditional literature on party system institutionalisation, age of democracy does not play a determining role. Instead, we find that the period in which democratisation took place is the decisive factor, with those democracies inaugurated in earlier periods experiencing a significantly lower level of electoral volatility than those regimes inaugurated more recently. Additionally, the most original finding of the paper is that unlike parliamentary or presidential regimes, semi-presidential regimes serve to undermine party system institutionalisation causing a significant increase in electoral volatility. Finally, this paper also provides an in depth case study of the Brazilian party system concluding that alongside the historical legacy left by twenty years of military rule, party system stability has been hampered by both institutional and elite-driven factors. |
| Supervisor | Zsolt Enyedi |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2012/jones_benjamin.pdf |
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