Parties, Governments and Elites

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-VI

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2. Introduction

   • Philipp Harfst, Ina Kubbe, Thomas Poguntke

   Pages 1-5

3. Parties and Democracy in Comparative Perspective

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7

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   2. Kosmopolitismus versus Kommunitarismus: Ein neuer Konflikt in der Demokratie

      • Wolfgang Merkel

      Pages 9-23

   3. Responsible Responsiveness of Parties in and out of Government

      • Hans Keman

      Pages 25-52

   4. Ideological Congruence: Choice, Visibility and Clarity

      • Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Darina Gancheva, Bernhard Weßels

      Pages 53-72

   5. New Parties and the Crisis of Representation: Between Indicator and Solution

      • Kris Deschouwer

      Pages 73-85

   6. Changing or Getting Changed: The Example of the German Greens since 1979

      • Thomas Poguntke

      Pages 87-103

   7. The ‘Law of Conservation of Disproportionality’ and Electoral Prospects of Small Parties

      • Philipp Harfst

      Pages 105-124

   8. New Internal Politics in Western Democracies: The Impact of the Environmental Movement in Highly Industrialized Democracies

      • Detlef Jahn

      Pages 125-150

4. Governments and Democracy in Comparative Perspective

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 151-151

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   2. Viewing African Presidencies Concretely and Positively: Six Case-Studies as Examples

      • Jean Blondel

      Pages 153-180

   3. The Party Composition of Government in Western Democracies, 1950–2015

      • Manfred G Schmidt

      Pages 181-203

   4. Strong Presidents for Weak States. How Weak State Capacity Fosters Vertically Concentrated Executives

      • Jessica Fortin-Rittberger

      Pages 205-226

5. Elites and Democracy in Comparative Perspective

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 227-227

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   2. Prime Ministerial Tenure in Central and Eastern Europe: The Role of Party Leadership and Cabinet Experience

      • Florian Grotz, Till Weber

      Pages 229-248

   3. Elites and Corruption in European Democracies

      • Ina Kubbe

      Pages 249-279

   4. One-Party Dominance and Public Sector Corruption in South Africa: Consequences for Democracy

      • Tom Koelble

      Pages 281-300

6. Looking Onward

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 301-301

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   2. Contemporary Problems and Future Perspectives of Empirical Research on Democracy

      • Dirk Berg-Schlosser

      Pages 303-320

Parties, governments and elites are at the core of the study of democracy. The traditional view is that parties as collective actors play a paramount role in the democratic process. However, this classical perspective has been challenged by political actors, observers of modern democracy as well as political scientists. Modern political parties assume different roles, contemporary leaders can more heavily influence politics, governments face new constraints and new collective bodies continue to form, propose new ways of participation and policy making, and attract citizens and activists. In the light of these observations, the comparative study of democracy faces a number of important and still largely unsolved questions that the present volume will address.

• democratic government
• comparative research
• quality of democracy
• collective actors
• modern democracy
• social movements
• democracy

• Institut für Politik- und Kommunikation, Universität Greifswald, Salzburg, Austria

  Philipp Harfst

• Tel Aviv, Israel

  Ina Kubbe

• Politikwissemschaft, Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

  Thomas Poguntke

Dr. Philipp Harfst is Senior Scientist at the University of Salzburg, Austria.

Dr. Ina Kubbe is Post-Doctoral Fellow at Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Dr. Thomas Poguntke is Professor of Comparative Politics and Director of the Düsseldorf Party Research Institute (PRuF) at the University of Düsseldorf, Germany.

Policies and ethics