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How Party System Fragmentation has Altered Political Opposition in Established Democracies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2013

Robin E. Best
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Abstract

This article examines the consequences of increased party system fragmentation for oppositions, their respective governments and representation more generally, focusing on 18 established democracies. Two of the findings presented here suggest that there is reason to be concerned about the future of parliamentary representation in established democracies. Firstly, an increasing proportion of votes now go to parties that do not receive a proportionate share of legislative representation, implying that a growing degree of organized opposition is extra-parliamentary. Secondly, the findings show that parliamentary oppositions have generally become more fragmented than their respective governments. This suggests that the composition of governments may not be keeping up with current trends in electoral preferences and, in some cases, that governmental majorities have become smaller and more tenuous. Thus, the overall picture is one of a growing and increasingly fragmented opposition, against a smaller and relatively cohesive government.

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Government and Opposition , Volume 48 , Issue 3: OLD AND NEW OPPOSITIONS IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPE Special Issue to Commemorate the Centenary of the Birth of Ghiţă Ionescu , July 2013 , pp. 314 - 342
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Copyright © Government and Opposition Ltd 2013 

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Footnotes

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Robin E. Best is a Research Assistant Professor of Political Science at Binghamton University (State University of New York). Contact email: [email protected].

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