Party System Closure maps trends in interparty relations in Europe from 1848 until 2019. It investigates how the length of democratic experience, the institutionalization of individual parties, the fragmentation of parliaments, and the support for anti-establishment parties, shape the degree of institutionalization of party systems. The analyses presented answer the questions of whether predictability in partisan interactions is necessary for the survival of democratic regimes and whether it improves or undermines the quality of democracy. The developments of party politics at the elite level are contrasted with the dynamics of voting behaviour. The comparisons of distinct historical periods and of macro-regions provide a comprehensive picture of the European history of party competition and cooperation.
The empirical overview presented in the book is based on a novel conceptual framework and features party composition data of more than a thousand European governments. Party systems are analysed in terms of poles and blocs, and the degree of closure and of polarization is related to a new party system typology. The book demonstrates that information collected from partisan interactions at the time of government formation can reveal changes that characterise the party system as a whole.
The empirical results confirm that the Cold War period (1945-1989) was exceptionally stable, while the post-Berlin-Wall era shows signs of disintegration, although more at the level of voters than at the level of elites. After three decades of democratic politics in Europe (1990-2019), the West and the South are looking increasingly like the East, especially in terms of the level of party de-institutionalization. The West and the South are becoming more polarised than the East, but in terms of parliamentary fragmentation, the party systems of the South and the East are converging, while the West is diverging from the rest with its increasingly high number of parties. As far as our central concept, party system closure, is concerned, thanks to the gradual process of stabilization in the East, and the recent de-institutionalization in the West and South, the regional differences are declining.
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A valuable contribution to the understanding of party politics and the challenges faced by democracies [...] Although full of innovative methodologies, the book is written in accessible language. In addition to being a pleasant reading, it is mandatory for everyone interested in how systems institutionalize and how contemporary democracies become sustainable. -- Vinícius Silva Alves, 'Análise Social'
This is an important book that represents a major step forward for the field of party system research. It focusses on closure, a particular characteristic of democratic party systems that was introduced as a concept approximately a quarter century ago by Peter Mair. -- Cees van der Eijk, 'Acta Politica'
...the major scholarly achievement of the study is that it manages to pin down a notoriously complex and multifaceted concept (party system institutionalization) while doing it in a very elegant and empirically sound way. -- Tõnis Saarts, 'Journal of Baltic Studies'
Fernando Casal Bértoa is an Associate Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham. He is co-director of REPRESENT: Research Centre for the Study of Parties and Democracy. His work has been published in numerous scholarly journals, such as the Journal of Politics, European Journal of Political Research, Sociological Methods and Research, Electoral Studies, West European Politics, Party Politics, European Political Science Review and Democratization. He was awarded the 2017 Gordon Smith and Vincent Wright Memorial Prize, the 2017 AECPA Prize for the Best Article and the 2018 Vice-Chancellor Medal of the University of Nottingham for 'exceptional achievements'.
Zsolt Enyedi is Professor at the Political Science Department of Central European University. He (co)authored two and (co)edited eight volumes and published numerous articles and book chapters, mainly on party politics and political attitudes. His articles appeared in journals such as European Journal of Political Research, Political Studies, Political Psychology, West European Politics, Party Politics, Europe-Asia Studies, Perspectives on Politics, European Review, etc. He has received a number of academic awards such as the Rudolf Wildenmann Prize, 2003, Bibó Prize, 2004, and the Hungarian Academy Award 2020.
