Measuring Party System Change: A Systems Perspective

Zim Nwokora () and Riccardo Pelizzo
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Zim Nwokora: Deakin University, Australia

No 17/048, Research Africa Network Working Papers from Research Africa Network (RAN)

Abstract: The term ‘party system’, explained Giovanni Sartori, refers to the pattern of interactions among major parties. That pattern can be represented as a type and treated as a proper unit of analysis. When ‘party system’ is defined in this way, it becomes clear that the scholarship lacks a direct measure of ‘party system change’. The Sartori approach to party system change is not the only legitimate way to understand this concept, but it does target an undoubtedly important feature of political systems—namely, the stability of major-party interactions. This article develops a new indicator, the index of fluidity, which measures the extent of such stability. Applying the index to Africa, we show there is significant cross-national variation in fluidity and weak correlation between fluidity and (Pedersen) volatility.

Keywords: party systems; party system change; Africa; Sartori typology; fluidity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D02 D72 H00 H11 H89 O00 O10 O43 O55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34
Date: 2017-01
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http://publications.resanet.org/RePEc/abh/abh-wpap ... tems-Perspective.pdf Revised version, 2017 (application/pdf)

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Working Paper: Measuring Party System Change: A Systems Perspective (2017)
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