PLSC 485a/663a
Week 3 Reading Guide
Maurice Duverger Political Parties 1963; Introduction
When and why do political parties form?
How does the process of internal party creation differ from external party creation?
How do internally and externally created parties differ in their organization and structure?
Peter Mair (ed.) The West European Party System Oxford University Press, 1990; Chapter 2
Do these authors see parties as natural defenders of parliamentary democracy?
How does this support for democracy differ across types of political party?
Eliassen and Svaasand "The Formation of Mass Political Organizations: An Analytical Framework" Scandinavian Political Studies 10/75 Universitetsforlaget Oslo 1975.
On what points do the authors disagree with Duverger?
According to the authors' usage- to the Democratic and Republican parties "oppose" each other, or "compete" with each other?
How do unions differ from political parties?
How does increasing organization of one political party affect the other parties in a nation?
Herbert Kitschelt The Logics of Party Formation Ecological Politics in Belgium and West Germany Cornell University Press 1989; Chapter 3
How did the formation of ecology parties in the 1970's and 1980's differ from the process described by Duverger? In what ways was it similar?
What seems to have motivated the founders of these parties?
Do these parties seem to attract voters based on their social characteristics or their ideologies?