CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2017
| Author | Kavasoglu, Yaman Berker |
|---|---|
| Title | The Origins of Party and Party System Institutionalization |
| Summary | How do the characteristics of previous authoritarian regimes affect the institutionalization of subsequent democratic party systems? Focusing on the institutions of previous authoritarian regimes, this thesis analyzes the root causes of party system institutionalization in third-wave democracies around the world. I propose a new logic that links authoritarian past to democratic party systems by emphasizing the way in which the existence of opposition political parties under the authoritarian rule contributes to party system institutionalization in subsequent democratic regimes. I argue that multiparty competition under authoritarian regimes incentivizes both incumbent autocrats and opposition factions to invest in political parties, leading to higher levels of overall party institutionalization. This has a long-lasting legacy on subsequent democracies. The analysis of 137 elections from 35 third-wave democracies around the world reveals that the degree of overall party institutionalization under authoritarian rule determines the trajectory of party system institutionalization in subsequent democratic regimes. The findings suggest that democratic party systems that inherit robust political parties from previous authoritarian regimes are more likely to institutionalize. Moreover, the findings also reveal that previous authoritarian regime type has an impact on party system institutionalization in subsequent democracies. Institutionalized patterns of party competition are more likely where democracies replace multiparty authoritarian regimes. The odds are against those democracies that follow from single-party or party-less authoritarian regimes. |
| Supervisor | Enyedi, Zsolt |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2017/kavasoglu_yaman.pdf |
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