| ID | 106945 |
| Title Proper | Three roads to institutionalisation |
| Other Title Information | vote-, office- and policy-seeking explanations of party switching in Poland |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | McMenamin, Iain ; Gwiadza, Anna |
| Publication | 2011. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Party institutionalisation is a central problem in political science. The literature tends to understand it as a syndrome and therefore has difficulty explaining variations. This article suggests a new approach based on the transaction between a legislative party and its deputies, the failure of which is observable in party switching. Three routes to institutionalisation are identified by appealing to the vote-seeking, office-seeking or policy-seeking motivations of deputies. Poland has had a large volume of party switching, along with wide variation in the incentives facing differently-motivated deputies. Survival analyses of switching in four Polish parliaments find that vote-seeking is the most likely route to institutionalisation for Polish parties. Moreover, in this article a concrete hypothesis is established for comparative testing: legislative parties can survive as long as their popular support exceeds 40 per cent of their share in the previous election. |
| `In' analytical Note | European Journal of Political Research Vol. 50, No. 6; Oct 2011: p838-866 |
| Journal Source | European Journal of Political Research Vol. 50, No. 6; Oct 2011: p838-866 |
| Key Words | Party Politics ; Institutionalisation ; Legislatures ; Poland ; Democracy |