Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies

by Webb, Paul; Farrell, David M.; Holliday, Ian

• ISBN13: 9780199240562
• ISBN10: 0199240566
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-04-10
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

How relevant and vital are political parties in contemporary democracies? Do they fulfill the functions that any stable and effective democracy might expect of them, or are they little more than moribund anachronisms, relics of a past age of political life, now superseded by other mechanismsof linkage between state and society? These are the central questions which this book aims to address through a rigorous comparative analysis of political parties operating in the world's advanced industrial democracies. Drawing on the expertise of an impressive team of internationally knownspecialists, the book engages systematically with the evidence to show that, while a degree of popular cynicism towards them is often chronic, though rarely acute, parties have adapted and survived as organizations, remodelling themselves to the needs of an era in which patterns of linkage andcommunication with social groups have been transformed. This has enabled them to remain central to democratic systems, especially in respect of the political functions of governance, recruitment and, albeit more problematically, interest aggregation. On the other hand, the challenges they face inrespect of interest articulation, communication and participation have pushed parties into more marginal roles within Western political systems. The implications of these findings for democracy depend on the observer's normative and theoretical perspectives. Those who understand democracy primarilyin terms of popular choice and control in public affairs will probably see parties as continuing to play a central role, while those who place greater store by the more demanding criteria of optimizing interests and instilling civic orientations among citizens are far more likely to be fundamentallycritical.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
List of Tables	x
Notes on Contributors	xiv
Introduction: Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies	1	(15)
Paul Webb
Political Parties in Britain: Secular Decline or Adaptive Resilience?	16	(30)
Paul Webb
Italian Parties: Change and Functionality	46	(31)
Luciano Bardi
Party Decline in the Parties State? The Changing Environment of German Politics	77	(30)
Susan E. Scarrow
France: Never a Golden Age	107	(44)
Andrew Knapp
The Colour Purple: The End of Predictable Politics in the Low Countries	151	(30)
Kris Deschouwer
The Scandinavian Party Model at the Crossroads	181	(36)
Jan Sundberg
Party Politics in Ireland: Regularizing a Volatile System	217	(31)
R. J. Murphy
David M. Farrell
Spain: Building a Parties State in a New Democracy	248	(32)
Ian Holliday
Parties at the European Level	280	(30)
Simon Hix
Still Functional After All These Years: Parties in the United States, 1960--2000	310	(35)
John C. Green
Canada's Nineteenth-Century Cadre Parties at the Millennium	345	(34)
R. Kenneth Carty
Political Parties in Australia: Party Stability in a Utilitarian Society	379	(30)
Ian McAllister
Parties and Society in New Zealand	409	(29)
Jack Vowles
Conclusion: Political Parties and Democratic Control in Advanced Industrial Societies	438	(23)
Paul Webb
Index	461