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Applies theoretical, typological, conceptual, & empirical analysis to the changes within the European catch-all political parties. This article focuses on the 'crisis' of the changes in the catch-all party (Vokspartei) since the 1970s & the restructuring of the Western catch-all parties as society & the Parteienstaat, or party state, where they function. Three waves of party building are identified & four resulting types of parties are described. The author argues that O. Kirchheimer's term, 'catch-all' party has been used inappropriately since he referred only to the outgrowth of the mass-integration party. Most of the major parties in Europe are still catch-all, however, & since the 1980s, they have experienced lower levels of organization & societal penetration. Social democratic, Christian democratic, & conservative parties have adapted by becoming smaller, less structured, & more flexible in order to remain electorally competitive. The disadvantages of these changes have been their 'short-termism' & 'ad-hockery' in their programs & electoral appeal as well as their inability to socially integrate & mediate. The Spanish, Portuguese, & Greek parties that have traditionally been ad hoc mobilizers have adapted better than the more structured German SPD or the social democrats in Scandinavia. The catch-all parties are not in a crisis of legitimation, but have remained stable & have generally been able to reorganize enough consent to re-equilibrate the system. L. A. Hoffman

An examination of the nature & consequences of two interactive processes -- exploring the impact of party on society & the impact of society on party -- focuses on the Panhellenic Socialist Movement in Greece; Spain's Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol; & the Portuguese Partido Socialista. Social, political, & historical contexts surrounding the emergence & evolution of each party are traced from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s. Special attention is given to trajectories of change; strategies; orientations; & capacities to build/preserve electoral coalitions. Relationships with their party system, organized social groups, & the state are explored, & policies implemented while in office are addressed in relation to tensions between political/economic modernization & the often limited potential for social reform. It is maintained that there are signs of convergence among socialist parties of northern & southern Europe, as well as with center-Right "catch-all" parties, resulting from an increasingly integrated Europe & the "centripetal logic of the democratic game of politics in the television age.". 1 Table. J. Lindroth