1. Chapter 13: Party Systems by Daniele Caramani
Caramani (ed.) Comparative Politics
Section IV: Actors and processes
Chapter 13: Party Systems by Daniele Caramani

2. Chapter 13: Party systems Introduction (1/1)
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
A party system is first and foremost the result of competitive interactions between parties.
The goal is the maximisation of votes to control government.
Three factors determine this interaction:
Which parties exist?
How many parties exist?
How do parties behave?
Note: We only speak of a party system in a democratic context where several parties compete for votes in open and plural elections

3. Chapter 13: Party systems The genealogy of party systems (1/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
Two factors induced the formation of parties and party families:
National Revolution (early 19th century; restricted electorates)
Industrial Revolution (late 19th century; suffrage extension)
Industrial- and National Revolution created socio-economic and cultural conflicts. Lipset and Rokkan named these conflicts cleavages.
Modern party families appeared as the political translations of those cleavages.

4. The genealogy of party systems (2/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The genealogy of party systems (2/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
Lipset and Rokkan distinguish four main cleavages.
National Revolution induced two cleavages:
Centre-periphery cleavage due to :
Administrative centralization (e.g. fiscal integration)
Cultural standardization (e.g. compulsory schooling, official language)
The centre-periphery cleavage led to regionalist parties (e.g. Scottish National Party, the Swedish Party in Finland).

5. The genealogy of party systems (3/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The genealogy of party systems (3/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
Cleavages of the National Revolution (continued):
State-church cleavage:
The liberal ideology of the National Revolution asked for secular institutions
Conflicts between state/church, abolition of the church's privileges
The state-church cleavage led to the formation of conservative and religious parties (e.g. Christian Democratic Union, Swiss Catholic Party).

6. The genealogy of party systems (4/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The genealogy of party systems (4/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
The Industrial revolution induced two further cleavages:
(3) Rural-urban cleavage:
Conflict mainly about trade policies
Agrarians favour trade barriers, industrialist free markets
The rural-urban cleavage led to agrarian and peasant parties (e.g. Australian County Party).

7. The genealogy of party systems (5/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The genealogy of party systems (5/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
Cleavages of the industrial revolution (continued):
Workers-employers cleavage:
Conflict between “capital” and “labour”
Workers promoted social rights and welfare provisions
Formation of workers and social-democratic parties (e.g. British Labour Party). The Soviet Revolution (1917) produced a cleavage within the worker's movement, splitting it into socialist and communist fractions.
The workers-employers cleavage is the most important one. Up to the present, it characterizes the left-right alignment.

8. The genealogy of party systems (6/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The genealogy of party systems (6/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
The Post industrial Revolution created two more recent cleavages:
(5) Materialism-post-materialism cleavage (1960s/1970s):
Conflict mainly between generations
Younger generation favouring “post-materialist-values”
A number of social movements emerged (e.g. civil rights movement in the US). Minor impact on party systems, formation of Green-Parties
(6) The globalization cleavage
Cleavage between "winners" and "losers" of globalization
Formation of neo-populist protest parties, often right-winged and xenophobic (e.g. Front National in France). Left-winged in Latin America

9. The genealogy of party systems (7/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The genealogy of party systems (7/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
Not all cleavages exist in all countries. There are many different
constellations and party-systems.
Generally two types of cleavage-constellations are distinguished:
Homogenous constellations: Predominant cleavage, namely left-right (e.g. Britain)
Heterogeneous constellations: Various overlapping cleavages exist
(e.g. Canada, Switzerland)
With the introduction of universal suffrage and PR after the First World War,
the party constellations remained remarkably stable until the present time
(freezing-hypotheses).

10. The morphology of party systems (1/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The morphology of party systems (1/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
The two main elements defining the format of a party system are:
The number of competing parties
The size of these parties

11. The morphology of party systems (2/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The morphology of party systems (2/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
The number of parties:
How exactly should parties be counted? There are two ways of doing so:
(1) Numerical:
Rae’s fractionalization index (F): F = 1 – Σpi2
Effective number of parties (E): E = 1/Σpi2
(2) Qualitative:
Coalition potential
Blackmail potential

12. The morphology of party systems (3/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The morphology of party systems (3/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
What determines the number and the size of parties?
Two sets of causes have been identified:
The electoral system
(2) The number of cleavages in a society

13. The morphology of party systems (4/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The morphology of party systems (4/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
Electoral systems are mechanisms for the translation of votes into
parliamentary seats:
Duverger’s “laws” (1954):
1st law: Majoritarian electoral systems favour two party systems
2nd law: PR leads to multi-party systems
What explains Duverger’s laws?
Mechanical effects:
High threshold in plurality electoral systems (the winner takes it all)
Psychological effects:
Demand side: Incentive to vote strategically
Supply side: Incentive for parties to merge

14. The morphology of party systems (5/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The morphology of party systems (5/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
The problem with Duverger’s laws: At the constituency or national level?
Majoritarian electoral systems only produce a two party system if parties are “nationalized”
If regional parties exist majoritarian systems can nevertheless produce fragmentation
Plurality systems distort party systems when translating them into seats:
over-representation of large parties
under-representation of small parties
Gallagher’s index of disproportionality (LSq): LSq = √1/2 x Σ(vi-si)2

15. The morphology of party systems (6/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The morphology of party systems (6/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
Types of democratic party systems:
(1) Dominant-party systems:
One party holds >50% for several decades, no alternation of power
(2) Two-party systems:
Two parties are sharing about 80% of votes, alternation of power, one-party government

16. The morphology of party systems (7/7)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The morphology of party systems (7/7)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
Types of democratic party systems :
(3) Multi-party systems:
(3.1) Moderate multi-party systems:
Small ideological distance, several centre-parties, centripetal competition, no alternation of power
(3.2) Polarized multi-party systems:
Anti-system parties, occupied centre, centrifugal competition, alternation of power
(4) Bipolar systems:
Two large coalitions of several parties each sharing about 80% of votes, alternation of power, coalition government

17. The dynamics of party systems (1/3)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The dynamics of party systems (1/3)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
Analogies between electoral- and market competition motivated the
application of economic methods in political science
(rational choice models).
In these models actors behave rational, self-interested and utility-
maximizing, i.e. for:
Parties: maximization of votes, no policy orientation
Voters: voting for parties on basis of ideological proximity
Example: An Economic Theory of Democracy by Anthony Downs (1957).
Downs applies economic models of competition (Hotteling) to electoral
studies.

18. The dynamics of party systems (2/3)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The dynamics of party systems (2/3)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
In accordance with these economic models Downs assumes that:
There is a one-dimensional space (left-right dimension)
Actors are reducing costs by searching proximity
Actors search for optimal location
An additional element is introduced by Downs:
Voters are unevenly distributed along the left-right continuum
Conclusions for the dynamics of party systems:
The empirical distribution of the electorate determines the direction of competition
In the case of a normally distributed electorate, parties converge toward the centre (median voter)

19. The dynamics of party systems (3/3)
Chapter 13: Party systems
The dynamics of party systems (3/3)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
Rational choice models have the potential to explain further aspects of
party systems:
Party organization
Dealignment
Enfranchisement and democratization
PR and multi-party systems

20. Conclusion (1/1) In order to understand party systems, we need:
Chapter 13: Party systems
Conclusion (1/1)
Introduction
The genealogy of party systems
The morphology of party systems
The dynamics of party systems
Conclusion
In order to understand party systems, we need:
A combination of macro-sociological institutional and actor-oriented models
Both descriptive and explanatory research
Comparison as well as a long-term perspective