Parties and Voters: What Creates the Ties? |
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Authors: | Jan-Erik Lane Svante Ersson |
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Institution: | *Geneva University, Department of Political Science, 102 Bd Carl-Vogt, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland. Svante Ersson, UmeåUniversity, Department of Political Science, S-907 87 Umeå, Sweden |
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Abstract: | The increasing instability in the electorate and the party system forces us to reconsider the Lipset-Rokkan thesis about the frozen party system. In this approach, cleavages played a major role, but in Western Europe, this role has diminished significantly. The frequent shifts in voter allegiance call for a new understanding of the mechanisms that connect voters and parties. A reinterpretation of the concepts of a "frozen party system" or "cleavages" is not enough. We need a new theory about the strategic interaction between parties and a floating electorate. |
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