Adapt or perish? How parties respond to party system saturation in 21 Western democracies, 1945–2011
- Author
- Marc-Paul Van de Wardt (UGent) and Arjen van Witteloostuijn
- Organization
- Abstract
- This study examines whether (and how) parties adapt to party system saturation (PSS). A party system is oversaturated when a higher effective number of parties contests elections than predicted. Previous research has shown that parties are more likely to exit when party systems are oversaturated. This article examines whether parties will adapt by increasing the nicheness of their policy platform, by forming electoral alliances or by merging. Based on time-series analyses of 522 parties contesting 357 elections in twenty-one established Western democracies between 1945 and 2011, the study finds that parties are more likely to enter – and less likely to leave – electoral alliances if PSS increases. Additionally, a small share of older parties will merge. The results highlight parties’ limited capacity to adapt to their environments, which has important implications for the literature on party (system) change and models of electoral competition.
- Keywords
- Sociology and Political Science, political parties, party change, party mergers, electoral alliances, party platform change, EFFECTIVE NUMBER, ORGANIZATIONAL ECOLOGY, CENTRIFUGAL INCENTIVES, SPATIAL THEORY, COMPETITION, POLICY, MODEL, UNCERTAINTY, STABILITY, DYNAMICS
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8631437
- MLA
- Van de Wardt, Marc-Paul, and Arjen van Witteloostuijn. “Adapt or Perish? How Parties Respond to Party System Saturation in 21 Western Democracies, 1945–2011.” BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, vol. 51, no. 1, 2021, pp. 16–38, doi:10.1017/s0007123419000152.
- APA
- Van de Wardt, M.-P., & van Witteloostuijn, A. (2021). Adapt or perish? How parties respond to party system saturation in 21 Western democracies, 1945–2011. BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, 51(1), 16–38. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007123419000152
- Chicago author-date
- Van de Wardt, Marc-Paul, and Arjen van Witteloostuijn. 2021. “Adapt or Perish? How Parties Respond to Party System Saturation in 21 Western Democracies, 1945–2011.” BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 51 (1): 16–38. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007123419000152.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Van de Wardt, Marc-Paul, and Arjen van Witteloostuijn. 2021. “Adapt or Perish? How Parties Respond to Party System Saturation in 21 Western Democracies, 1945–2011.” BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 51 (1): 16–38. doi:10.1017/s0007123419000152.
- Vancouver
- 1.Van de Wardt M-P, van Witteloostuijn A. Adapt or perish? How parties respond to party system saturation in 21 Western democracies, 1945–2011. BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE. 2021;51(1):16–38.
- IEEE
- [1]M.-P. Van de Wardt and A. van Witteloostuijn, “Adapt or perish? How parties respond to party system saturation in 21 Western democracies, 1945–2011,” BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 16–38, 2021.
@article{8631437,
abstract = {{This study examines whether (and how) parties adapt to party system saturation (PSS). A party system is oversaturated when a higher effective number of parties contests elections than predicted. Previous research has shown that parties are more likely to exit when party systems are oversaturated. This article examines whether parties will adapt by increasing the nicheness of their policy platform, by forming electoral alliances or by merging. Based on time-series analyses of 522 parties contesting 357 elections in twenty-one established Western democracies between 1945 and 2011, the study finds that parties are more likely to enter – and less likely to leave – electoral alliances if PSS increases. Additionally, a small share of older parties will merge. The results highlight parties’ limited capacity to adapt to their environments, which has important implications for the literature on party (system) change and models of electoral competition.}},
author = {{Van de Wardt, Marc-Paul and van Witteloostuijn, Arjen}},
issn = {{0007-1234}},
journal = {{BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE}},
keywords = {{Sociology and Political Science,political parties,party change,party mergers,electoral alliances,party platform change,EFFECTIVE NUMBER,ORGANIZATIONAL ECOLOGY,CENTRIFUGAL INCENTIVES,SPATIAL THEORY,COMPETITION,POLICY,MODEL,UNCERTAINTY,STABILITY,DYNAMICS}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{16--38}},
title = {{Adapt or perish? How parties respond to party system saturation in 21 Western democracies, 1945–2011}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1017/s0007123419000152}},
volume = {{51}},
year = {{2021}},
}
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