Suchergebnisse

In a paper published soon after the transition to democracy in East Central Europe, it was suggested that post-communist party systems were expected to be characterized by an unstable and unpredictable structure of competition (Mair 1996). Returning to that original hypothesis, this paper attempts to make a first systematic mapping of the patterns of inter-party competition which have characterised post-communist party systems over the past two decades. Because the main arena of inter-party competition (or cooperation) is the competition for government, we analyse here the way in which government is contested by the various political parties, and how such patterns of interaction vary both over time and across fifteen different post-communist polities. This allows us to derive a much clearer sense of the differences between party systems.

This study has been prepared by the Observatory on Political Parties and Representation (OPPR), part of the European Democracy Observatory (EUDO) at the European University Institute (EUI). It covers four aspects: 1) An analysis of the political doctrine and programme of major political parties in several Member States. 2) An examination of current procedures applied to political parties to choose leaders for European Office. 3) The development of proposals on how to help a European political party system evolve from national structures strongly influenced by historical traditions and cultural factors. 4) Suggestions regarding the extent to which the European electoral system and different systems of party financing would have to be revised in order to facilitate the above objectives.

This study has been prepared by the Observatory on Political Parties and Representation (OPPR), part of the European Democracy Observatory (EUDO) at the European University Institute (EUI). It covers four aspects: 1) An analysis of the political doctrine and programme of major political parties in several Member States. 2) An examination of current procedures applied to political parties to choose leaders for European Office. 3) The development of proposals on how to help a European political party system evolve from national structures strongly influenced by historical traditions and cultural factors. 4) Suggestions regarding the extent to which the European electoral system and different systems of party financing would have to be revised in order to facilitate the above objectives.