In their chapter in The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties, our Senior Research Fellow Zsolt Enyedi and Fernando Casal Bertoa (University of Nottingham) introduce the central concepts of party system analysis.

Party systems can be analyzed along multiple dimensions, including the competitive strategies of the parties, their linkages to society, their alliance patterns, their number and balance of power, the nature of ideological polarization, and the overall degree of systemic institutionalization. The chapter identifies the most influential contributions in the various segments of the literature, and argues for a more systematic study of party interactions.

The volume provides a systematic and comprehensive overview of the study of political parties provided by leading experts in the field, and is essential reading and an authoritative reference for scholars, students, researchers and practitioners involved in and actively concerned about research in the study of political parties, party systems, and party politics.

Learn more about the book here.