Cleavages, Institutions and Competition

Understanding Vote Nationalisation in Western Europe (1965-2015)

Vincenzo Emanuele

The study of how party systems are structured across territorial lines is a crucial research topic for political scientists, and one fraught with consequences for the political system and the democratic process. Cleavages, Institutions and Competition addresses this topic and raises the following questions: How has vote nationalisation evolved in Western Europe during the past fifty years, and which factors account for its variation across Western European party systems? This book answers these questions through a macro-comparative perspective and an original empirical research based on 230 parliamentary elections in 16 countries between 1965 and 2015. The result is a far-reaching understanding of the constellation of factors involved in the process of vote nationalisation, including macro-sociological, institutional and competition determinants.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / ECPR Press

Pages: 300 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-78660-673-0 • Hardback • January 2018 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

978-1-78661-308-0 • Paperback • April 2019 • $41.00 • (£32.00)

978-1-78660-674-7 • eBook • January 2018 • $39.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Political Process / Political Parties, Political Science / General, Political Science / World / European

Cleavages, Institutions and Competition

Understanding Vote Nationalisation in Western Europe (1965-2015)

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

The study of how party systems are structured across territorial lines is a crucial research topic for political scientists, and one fraught with consequences for the political system and the democratic process. Cleavages, Institutions and Competition addresses this topic and raises the following questions: How has vote nationalisation evolved in Western Europe during the past fifty years, and which factors account for its variation across Western European party systems? This book answers these questions through a macro-comparative perspective and an original empirical research based on 230 parliamentary elections in 16 countries between 1965 and 2015. The result is a far-reaching understanding of the constellation of factors involved in the process of vote nationalisation, including macro-sociological, institutional and competition determinants.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / ECPR Press

Pages: 300 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-78660-673-0 • Hardback • January 2018 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

978-1-78661-308-0 • Paperback • April 2019 • $41.00 • (£32.00)

978-1-78660-674-7 • eBook • January 2018 • $39.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Political Process / Political Parties, Political Science / General, Political Science / World / European

Author

Vincenzo Emanuele is Post-doctoral Fellow in Political Science at LUISS Guido Carli in Rome. He is a member of CISE (Italian Centre for Electoral Studies), ITANES (Italian National Election Studies), and of the CES (Conference of the Europeanists) Research Network on Political Parties, Party Systems and Elections.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures / List of abbreviations / Acknowledgments / Preface / Part I: Theoretical and Methodological Framework / 1. Theoretical background / 2. Research design / Part II: Assessing Vote Nationalization / 3. Vote nationalization trends (1965-2015) / Part III: Explaining Vote Nationalism / 4. The ‘macro-sociological’ determinants / 5. The institutional constraints / 6. The competition factors / 7. Towards an explanation / 8. Vote (de-)nationalization in Western Europe: main findings and implications / Appendix: Vote nationalization trends (1965-2015): national variations / References

Reviews

In a time where party changes on different levels and the emergence of new parties are characterizing European politics, the author analyses and explains the territorial structuring of party support in Western Europe over the last fifty years, thanks to a rich and original dataset. The result is this book that any scholar, student, and practitioner of contemporary politics should read and ponder carefully.
— Leonardo Morlino, Former President, International Political Science Association (IPSA)

This in-depth analysis of vote nationalization in the Western European democracies provides a much needed clarification of the concept and a comprehensive and systematic explanation of its patterns of variation. In this regard, it makes significant theoretical and empirical contributions and will be a precious source for anyone involved in the study of elections, parties and party systems.
— Alessandro Chiaramonte, Professor of Political Science, University of Florence