Suchergebnisse

A review of party-related articles in major political science journals over the past century reveals an increase in the incidence of such articles during the behavioral revolution and a decline in the proportion of studies that view parties holistically or in their organizational aspects and an increase in research on mass and legislative behavior. The essay calls for scholars of American parties to merge empirical findings with the generalist and normative concerns of an earlier age, to assess the recent advent of parties as ideologically focused instruments of policymaking

John N. Plank, professor emeritus of political science, died suddenly
at his home in Storrs, Connecticut on April 30, 2005, at the age of
81.

Factionalism within parties is a subject that is crucial in understanding how parties operate and how well they carry out the functions they are widely assumed to perform. However, factionalism has been undertheorized. In order to provide some theoretical content to the study of factions within parties, I develop a three-part typology of factionalism based on the degree of persistence of factional coalitions and what underlies them. An examination of presidential nominating contests in the major parties of the United States concludes that the degree of factional persistence is due to exogenous factors, and I infer from it a developmental theory. I conclude by suggesting ways in which the analysis might be extended to other nations.