Party Switching in New Democracies: Career Killer or Career Stringboard?

Party switching undermines the significant expectations of the delegation approach. While electing a parliamentarian, the voters expect that this parliamentarian will realize the party preferences for which the voters voted. If the parliamentarian changes his or her party affiliation, it means the breach of electoral accountability and the voters’ trust. Researchers on parties argue that in the case of party switching, parliamentarians will be punished by the voters on the next elections and will leave the parliament. In contrast, elite research suggests that party switching can be used by parliamentarians as an instrument to continue their careers and protect themselves from electoral volatility. Using the individual data on all parliamentarians in 13 new democracies from 1990 until 2012, I will examine both hypotheses, i.e., whether party switching is a career killer or a career springboard. The results of this study will have implications of electoral accountability, studies on volatility, and parliamentary careers.