The transformation of Western European party systems revisited

Abstract

Otto Kirchheimer has argued that a transformation of Western European party systems is under way. If Kirchheimer's assertions about the emergence and success of catch‐all parties are correct, we should discover decreased fragmentation in Western European party systems. However, there is little evidence for this. In recent years many party systems have become more, rather than less, fragmented. Catch‐all parties have succeeded only in countries which experienced crises and disruptions in development. Elsewhere the strength of partisan attachments prevent the success of catch‐all parties. Increased fragmentation in the 1970s reflects the weakening of partisan attachments, the emergence of new concerns, and growing reactions against goverment policies and practices. Minor parties have gained support because they were better able to mobilise discontent and fulfil the expressive functions of political parties.

Notes

Associate Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland. This paper was written while on leave at the Institute of Political Science, Leiden University, the Netherlands. The research was supported by a Fulbright fellowship and a Canada Council Post‐doctoral Research Award. An earlier version, presented at the 1976 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, has been published in Italian in Rivista italiana di Scienza politica, no. 1, April, 1978.