Post-Communist Party Systems: Competition, Representation, and Inter-Party Cooperation

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Post-Communist Party Systems: Competition, Representation, and Inter-Party Cooperation
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Herbert Kitschelt
By (author) Zdenka Mansfeldova
By (author) Radoslaw Markowski
By (author) Gabor Toka
SeriesCambridge Studies in Comparative Politics
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:476
Dimensions(mm): Height 229,Width 153
ISBN/Barcode 9780521658904
ClassificationsDewey:324.20943
Audience
Tertiary Education (US: College)
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations 68 Tables, unspecified; 24 Line drawings, unspecified

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 13 August 1999
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Post-Communist Party Systems examines democratic party competition in four post-communist polities in the mid-1990s, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. Legacies of pre-communist rule turn out to play as much a role in accounting for differences as the institutional differences incorporated in the new democratic rules of the game. The book demonstrates various developments within the four countries with regard to different voter appeal of parties, patterns of voter representation, and dispositions to join other parties in legislative or executive alliances. The authors also present interesting avenues of comparison for broader sets of countries.

Reviews

"Welcome in the field." Comparative Politics "This hefty tome is the most substantial piece of research yet to emerge from the study of the transition to democracy in Eastern Europe." Choice "This hefty tome is the most substantial piece of research yet to emerge from the study of the transition to democracy in Eastern Europe." Choice "This outstanding volume, authorized by a multi-national team and deploying an empirically sophisticated and theoretically driven research program, attempts to explain variation in the quality of democratic accountability, governability, and responsiveness in four postcommunist states...The result is an engaging and highly nuanced account that highlights the structuring role of communist-era legacies in shaping choices concerning new political institutions and the quality of democratic procedures...the book is theoretically rich, methodologically innovative, and opens new avenues for further research...a work of great distinction." Slavic Review