Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T19:13:39.890Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Party organizational strength and party unity in post-communist Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2011

Margit Tavits
Margit Tavits*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA
*
* E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The existing comparative literature focuses on political institutions to explain party unity in parliament, and largely ignores the role of party characteristics in this process. This study argues that the strength of political party organization directly and independently influences the level of party unity. Organizational strength makes the party a valuable asset to individual legislators, thus increasing their willingness to be disciplined. Therefore, parties with strong organizations are likely to be more unified in parliament than those with weak organizations. I find support for this argument with data from four post-communist democracies: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, and Poland. Narratives suggest that the proposed causal mechanism is plausible.

Keywords

party organizationparty unitypost-communist politics
Type
Research Article
Information
European Political Science Review , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 409 - 431
Copyright
Copyright © European Consortium for Political Research 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ágh, A. (1995), ‘The experiences of the first democratic parliaments in East Central Europe’, Communist and Post-Communist Studies 28(2): 203–214.Google Scholar
Ágh, A. (2002), ‘The dual challenge and the reform of the Hungarian Socialist Party’, Communist and Post-Communist Studies 35(3): 269–288.Google Scholar
Amorim Neto, O.Santos, F. (2001), ‘The executive connection: presidentially defined factions and party discipline in Brazil’, Party Politics 7(2): 213–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashworth, S.Bueno de Mesquita, E. (2008), ‘Electoral selection, strategic challenger entry, and the incumbency advantage’, Journal of Politics 70(4): 1006–1025.Google Scholar
Bakke, E.Sitter, N. (2005), ‘Patterns of stability: party competition and strategy in Central Europe since 1989’, Party Politics 11(2): 243–263.Google Scholar
Bartolini, S. (2000), The Political Mobilization of the European Left, 1860–1980: The Class Cleavage, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benoit, K.Laver, M. (2006), Party Policy in Modern Democracies, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bielasiak, J. (1997), ‘Substance and process in the development of party systems in East Central Europe’, Communist and Post-Communist Studies 30(1): 23–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bielasiak, J. (2002), ‘The institutionalization of electoral and party systems in postcommunist states’, Comparative Politics 34(2): 189–210.Google Scholar
Birch, S. (2003), Electoral Systems and Political Transformation in Post-Communist Europe, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Bos, S. (2009), ‘Czech government collapses after losing no-confidence vote’, GlobalSecurity.org, March 25.Google Scholar
Bowler, S., Farrell, D.M.Katz, R.S. (1999), ‘Party cohesion, party discipline, and parliaments’, in S. Bowler, D.M. Farrell and R.S. Katz (eds), Party Discipline and Parliamentary Government, Columbus: Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Carey, J.M. (2009), Legislative Voting and Accountability, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Carrubba, C.J., Gabel, M., Murrah, L., Clough, R., Montgomery, E.Schambach, R. (2006), ‘Off the record: unrecorded legislative votes, selection bias and roll-call vote analysis’, British Journal of Political Science 36: 691–704.Google Scholar
Carty, R.K.Eagels, M. (1999), ‘Do local campaigns matter? Campaign spending the local canvass and party support in Canada’, Electoral Studies 18: 69–87.Google Scholar
Clark, A. (2004), ‘The continued relevance of local parties in representative democracies’, Politics 24(1): 35–45.Google Scholar
Coppedge, M. (1998), ‘The dynamic diversity of Latin American party systems’, Party Politics 4(4): 547–568.Google Scholar
Cotter, C.P., Gibson, J.L., Bibby, J.F.Huckshorn, R.J. (1984), Party Organizations in American Politics, New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Cox, G.W.McCubbins, M. (1993), Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House, Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
CTK News Agency. (2003), ‘Presidential elections unveil disputes in Czech ruling party’, CTK News Agency, March 3.Google Scholar
Curry, J.L.Urban, J.B. (eds) (2003), The Left Transformed in Post-Communist Societies: The Cases of East-Central Europe, Russia, and Ukraine, Boulder: Rowman&Littlefield.Google Scholar
Cutright, P. (1963), ‘Measuring the impact of local party activity on the general election vote’, Public Opinion Quarterly 27(3): 372–386.Google Scholar
Deegan-Krause, K. (2006), Elected Affinities: Democracy and Party Competition in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Stanford: Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Desposato, S.W. (2005), ‘Correcting for small group inflation of roll-call cohesion scores’, British Journal of Political Science 35: 731–744.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Desposato, S.W. (2006), ‘The impact of electoral rules on legislative parties: lessons from the Brazilian Senate and Chamber of Deputies’, Journal of Politics 68(4): 1018–1030.Google Scholar
Diermeier, D.Feddersen, T.J. (1998), ‘Cohesion in legislatures and the vote of confidence procedure’, American Political Science Review 92(3): 611–621.Google Scholar
Enyedi, Z. (2005), ‘The role of agency in cleavage formation’, European Journal of Political Research 44(1): 1–25.Google Scholar
Enyedi, Z. (2008), Dataset of Hungarian Political Parties, Budapest: Central European University.Google Scholar
EU Business. (2008), ‘Poland, Slovakia, embrace EU's Lisbon Treaty’. Retrieved 6 March 2009 from http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1207855922.07.Google Scholar
Geser, H. (1999), ‘The local party as an object of interdisciplinary comparative study: some steps toward theoretical integration’, in M. Saiz and H. Geser (eds), Local Parties in Political and Organizational Perspective, Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Grzymala-Busse, A.M. (2002), Redeeming the Communist Past, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hanley, S. (2003), ‘Are the exceptions really the rule? Questioning the application of ‘electoral-professional’ type models of party organization in East Central Europe’, in P. Lewis and P. Webb (eds), Pan-European Perspectives on Party Politics, Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Haspel, M., Remington, T.D.Smith, S. (1998), ‘Electoral institutions and party cohesion in the Russian Duma’, Journal of Politics 60: 417–439.Google Scholar
Hazan, R.Y. (2003), ‘Does Cohesion Equal Discipline? Towards a Conceptual Delineation’, Journal of Legislative Studies 9(4): 1–11.Google Scholar
Herron, E. (2002), ‘Electoral influences on legislative behavior in mixed-member systems: evidence from the Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada’, Legislative Studies Quarterly 27: 361–381.Google Scholar
Hix, S. (2004), ‘Electoral institutions and legislative behavior: explaining voting defection in the European Parliament’, World Politics 56(2): 194–223.Google Scholar
Hix, S., Noury, A.Roland, G. (2005), ‘Power to the parties: cohesion and competition in the European Parliament, 1979–2001’, British Journal of Political Science 35(2): 209–234.Google Scholar
Ideon, A. (2009), ‘Keskerakond lööb võistlejaid valimiste põhjaliku eeltööga’. Postimees, October 10.Google Scholar
Ilonszki, G. (1994), ‘Parliament and parliamentarians in Hungary: a comparative perspective’, in A. Agh and S. Kurtan (eds), The First Steps, Budapest: Center for Democratic Studies.Google Scholar
Janda, K. (1980), Political Parties: A Cross-National Survey, New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Juhász, G. (2001), Pártpénzügyek, Budapest: Aula.Google Scholar
Kalmre, V. (1996), ‘Keskerakond murendab Eesti demokraatiat’, Postimees, March 15.Google Scholar
Kangur, R. (2004), Kandidaatide selekteerimise protsess Eesti erakondades, BA thesis, University of Tartu.Google Scholar
Katz, R.S.Mair, P. (eds) (1994), How Parties Organize: Change and Adaptation in Party Organizations in Western Democracies, London: Sage.Google Scholar
Keefer, P.Khemani, S. (2009), ‘When do legislators pass on pork? The role of political parties in determining legislator effort’, American Political Science Review 103(1): 99–112.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, HMcGann, A.J. (1995), The radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, H., Mansfeldova, Z., Markowski, R.Toka, G. (1999), Post-Communist Party Systems: Competition, Representation, and Inter-Party Cooperation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kopecky, P. (1995), ‘Developing party organizations in East-Central Europe’, Party Politics 1(4): 515–534.Google Scholar
Kopecky, P. (2000), ‘The limits of whips and watchdogs: parliamentary parties in the Czech Republic’, in K. Heidar and R. Koole (eds), Parliamentary Party Groups in European Democracies, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kopecky, P. (2007), Political Parties and the State in Post-Communist Europe, London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kowalczyk, K. (2004), ‘Prawo i Sprawiedliwość’, in J. Sielski and K. Kowalczyk (eds), Polskie partie i ugrupowania parlamentarne, Toruń: Adam Marshal.Google Scholar
Kuenzi, M.Lambright, G. (2001), ‘Party systems institutionalization in 30 African Countries’, Party Politics 7(4): 437–468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kunicova, J.Remington, T.F. (2008), ‘Mandates, parties, and dissent: effect of electoral rules on parliamentary party cohesion in the Russian State Duma, 1994–2003’, Party Politics 14(5): 555–574.Google Scholar
Levitsky, S. (2003), Transforming Labor-Based Parties in Latin America, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lyne, M.M. (2008), ‘Proffering pork: how party leaders build party reputations in Brazil’, American Journal of Political Science 52(2): 290–303.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, S. (1998a), ‘Rethinking party system theory in the third wave of democratization: the importance of party system institutionalization’. Working Paper 260. The Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, S. (1998b), ‘Electoral volatility in Brazil’, Party Politics 4(4): 523–545.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, S. (1999), Rethinking Party Systems in Third Wave of Democracies, Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Mayhew, D. (1974), Congress: The Electoral Connection, New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Montgomery, K.A. (1999), ‘Electoral effects on party behavior and development: evidence from the Hungarian National Assembly’, Party Politics 5(4): 507–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgenstern, S. (2004), Patterns of Legislative Politics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Morgenstern, S.Swindle, S.M. (2005), ‘Are politics local? An analysis of voting patterns in 23 democracies’, Comparative Political Studies 38(2): 143–170.Google Scholar
Morlang, D. (2003), ‘Hungary: socialists building capitalism’, in J.L. Curry and J.B. Urban (eds), The Left Transformed in Post-Communist Societies, New York: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 61–99.Google Scholar
Mozaffar, S.Scarritt, J.R. (2005), ‘The puzzle of African party systems’, Party Politics 11(4): 399–421.Google Scholar
Mudde, C. (2007), Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Nalewajko, E.Wesołowski, W. (2007), ‘Five terms of the Polish Parliament, 1989–2005’, Journal of Legislative Studies 13(1): 59–82.Google Scholar
Olson, D.M. (1998), ‘Party formation and party system consolidation in the new democracies of Central Europe’, Political Studies 46: 432–464.Google Scholar
Otepalu, O. (2008), Poliitilist edukust mõjutavad tegurid Riigikogu kandidaatide selekteerimise protsessis. MA thesis, University of Tartu.Google Scholar
Owens, J.E. (2003), ‘Explaining party cohesion and discipline in democratic legislatures: purposiveness and contests’, Journal of Legislative Studies 9(4): 12–40.Google Scholar
Panebianco, A. (1988), Political Parties: Organization and Power, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Parve, R.R. (2002), ‘Nädal Toompeal’, Kesknädal, October 30.Google Scholar
Pattie, C.J.Johnston, R.J. (2003), ‘Local battles in a national landslide: constituency campaign at the 2001 British General Election’, Political Geography 22(4): 381–414.Google Scholar
Perkins, D. (1996), ‘Structure and choice: the role of organizations, patronage and the media in party formation’, Party Politics 2(3): 355–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perlez, J. (1993), ‘Polish cabinet falls over tight budget’, New York Times, May 29.Google Scholar
Peters, B.G. (1998), Comparative Politics: Theory and Method, New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Pogonyi, L. (2002), ‘Socialist leader on party's public messages, media control’, Nepszabadsag, May 10.Google Scholar
Primo, D.M.Snyder, J.M. (2010), ‘Party strength, the personal vote, and government spending’, American Journal of Political Science 54(2): 354–370.Google Scholar
Rice, S.A. (1925), ‘The behavior of legislative groups’, Political Science Quarterly 40(1): 60–72.Google Scholar
Roberts, K.M.Wibbels, E. (1999), ‘Party systems and electoral volatility in Latin America: a test of economic, institutional, and structural explanations’, American Political Science Review 93(3): 575–590.Google Scholar
Rosas, G.Shomer, Y. (2008), ‘Models of nonresponse in legislative politics’, Legislative Studies Quarterly 33(4): 573–601.Google Scholar
Scarrow, S.E. (1994), ‘The “Paradox of Enrollment”: assessing the costs and benefits of party membership’, European Journal of Political Research 25: 41–60.Google Scholar
Scarrow, S.E. (1996), Parties and Their Members, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Schlesinger, J.A. (1975), ‘The primary goals of political parties: a clarification of positive theory’, American Political Science Review 69(3): 840–849.Google Scholar
Schlesinger, J.A. (1984), ‘On the theory of party organization’, Journal of Politics 46(2): 369–400.Google Scholar
Shomer, Y. (2009), ‘Candidate selection procedures, seniority, and vote-seeking behavior’, Comparative Political Studies 42(7): 945–970.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sieberer, U. (2006), ‘Party unity in parliamentary democracies: a comparative analysis’, Journal of Legislative Studies 12(2): 150–178.Google Scholar
Spurek, S. (2002), Kobiety. Partie. Wybory, Łódź: Centrum Praw Kobiet.Google Scholar
Szczerbiak, A. (2001), Poles Together? The Emergence and Development of Political Parties in Postcommunist Poland, Budapest: Central European University Press.Google Scholar
Tavits, M. (2008), ‘On the linkage between electoral volatility and party system instability in Central and Eastern Europe’, European Journal of Political Research 47(5): 537–555.Google Scholar
Tavits, M. (2009a), ‘The making of mavericks: local loyalties and party defection’, Comparative Political Studies 42(6): 793–815.Google Scholar
Tavits, M. (2009b), ‘Party organizations and electoral performance in Central and Eastern Europe’. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, September 3–6, Toronto.Google Scholar
Thames, F.C. (2005), ‘A house divided: party strength and the mandate divide in Hungary, Russia and Ukraine’, Comparative Political Studies 38(3): 282–303.Google Scholar
Toole, J. (2003), ‘Straddling the east–west divide: party organisation and communist legacies in East Central Europe’, Europe–Asia Studies 55(1): 101–118.Google Scholar
TASR News Agency. (2001), ‘Slovak premier drafts amendments to approved territorial reform’, TASR News Agency, July 23.Google Scholar
van Biezen, I. (2003), Political Parties in New Democracies: Party Organization in Southern and East-Central Europe, New York: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Whiteley, P.F.Seyd, P. (1994), ‘Local party campaigning and electoral mobilization in Britain’, Journal of Politics 56(1): 242–252.Google Scholar
Zubek, R. (2008), ‘Parties, rules and government legislative control in Central and Eastern Europe: the case of Poland’, Communist and Post-Communist Studies 41(2): 147–161.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Tavits Supplementary Data

Tavits Supplementary Data

Download Tavits Supplementary Data(PDF)
PDF 67.4 KB