Party organization and electoral volatility in Central and Eastern Europe: enhancing voter loyalty

Almost three decades after the regime change in Central and Eastern Europe, some of the political parties that were successors of the communists continue to enjoy important electoral support. This article makes an attempt to understand why this happens and focuses on the role of the party organization. It includes a qualitative analysis on the typical case of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) based on a series of semi-structured interviews with party cadres and independent researchers. These interviews reveal that the stable territorial distribution of their performance amidst significant electoral volatility since 2010 highlights an organizational impasse within the party.

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On the linkage between electoral volatility and party system instability in Central and Eastern Europe

European Journal of Political Research ◽

10.1111/j.1475-6765.2008.00782.x ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 47 (5) ◽

pp. 537-555 ◽

Cited By ~ 90

Author(s):

MARGIT TAVITS

Keyword(s):

Eastern Europe ◽

Party System ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Electoral Volatility

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ELECTORAL VOLATILITY AND CONSOLIDATION OF "NEW DEMOCRACIES" IN THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

RSUH/RGGU Bulletin Series Political Science History International Relations Area Studies Oriental Studies ◽

10.28995/2073-6339-2020-3-10-19 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 10-19

Author(s):

Sergei L. Chepel ◽

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Keyword(s):

Eastern Europe ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Party Identification ◽

New Democracies ◽

Party Leaders ◽

Electoral Volatility ◽

Early 21St Century ◽

Stable Factor ◽

High Level ◽

Communist Countries

The article examines the dynamics of electoral volatility in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the early 21st century. Based on the statistical data of elections and the results of sociological researches the article focuses on the influence of economic and politico-cultural factors upon the electoral mobility of population. It is noted that the effect of economic situation on the changing party preferences of voters was lessened as the process of adaption of people to market economy progressed. It is believed that the society political culture in post-communist countries of CEE marked by a low-level party identification of citizens can be considered a more stable factor influencing the dynamics of electoral volatility. Weak party adherence induces voters who are disappointed by current government policy to change party preferencesrather quickly whatin itsturn contributesto maintenance of the high-level electoral volatility. In those circumstances parties are formed and they act purely on the current political situation rather than the existing social and group demands. In case of coming into power party leaders do not consider themselves bound to fulfill the promises which they ladled out during the election campaign, and as a result that can be the cause of a new rise in social disappointment The author concludes that the high level of electoral volatility in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe considerably weakens the mechanism of responsible party management and so impedes consolidation of new democracies.

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Party system volatility, regeneration and de-institutionalization in Western Europe (1945–2015)

Party Politics ◽

10.1177/1354068815601330 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 376-388 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Alessandro Chiaramonte ◽

Vincenzo Emanuele

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Data Analysis ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

Party System ◽

Western Europe ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Electoral Volatility ◽

Political Actors ◽

Long Time ◽

Party System Institutionalization

Despite a great flourishing of studies about Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe, the issue of party system institutionalization has been widely neglected in Western Europe, where the presence of stable and predictable patterns of interactions among political actors has been generally taken for granted for a long time. Nevertheless, party system institutionalization is not something that can be gained once and for all. This article proposes a theoretical reconceptualization and a new empirical operationalization of party system (de-)institutionalization. Furthermore, it tests the presence of patterns of de-institutionalization in Western Europe from 1945 to (March) 2015 (336 elections in 19 countries) by using an original database of electoral volatility and of its internal components (regeneration and alteration). Data analysis shows that Western Europe is facing great electoral instability and party system regeneration and that many countries have experienced sequences of party system de-institutionalization, especially in the last two decades.

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