Cartelisation, Convergence or Increasing Similarities ?: Lessons from Parties in Parliament (Studies in European Political Science) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1786613115 ISBN 13: 9781786613110

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield/ECPR Press, 2019

Synopsis

It is often suggested that political parties are becoming increasingly alike, and that party politics has turned into an elite affair where political professionals collude to further their self-interest rather than work to represent the interests of their constituents. In recent decades this diagnosis has been famously associated with Richard Katz and Peter Mair's cartel party theory. Yet so far this controversial thesis has not been subjected to systematic empirical scrutiny, nor has its conceptual and normative underpinnings been properly considered. In this volume a group of political scientists with different specialisations take on this task, focusing empirically on the Swedish party system, which the originators of the cartel party theory have suggested is especially conducive to the formation of party cartels. Collecting new and unique qualitative and quantitative data, the volume casts serious doubt on the validity of the cartel party theory as an explanation for party system change.

About this title

About the Authors

Henrik Enroth is an Associate Professor at Linnaeus University, Sweden.

Magnus Hagevi is Associate Professor in political science and the leader of Surveyinstitutet at Linnaeus University, Sweden, with a special interest in political parties and political behavior at mass and elite levels. Hagevi is the author of several books, including The Swedish Voter 2014 (Den svenska väljaren 2014). His recent work has appeared in West European Politics, International Review of Sociology, Journal of Church and State, and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

Edition details

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield/ECPR Press
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1786613115
• ISBN 13: 9781786613110
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 258
• Editor: Enroth Henrik