How Party Systems Form: Path Dependency and the Institutionalization of the Post-War German Party System

• Published in: British journal of political science Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 669 - 697
• Main Author: Kreuzer, Marcus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.10.2009
• Subjects: Coalitions; Critical path analysis; Democracy; Elections; Electoral behaviour; Electoral reform; Electoral systems; Federal Republic of Germany; Germany; History; Increasing returns; Institutionalization; Party systems; Political actors; Political candidates; Political conditions; Political elections; Political Parties; Political science; Political Systems; Politicians; Post-war history; Primaries & caucuses; State elections; Variables; Vote counting; Voters; Voting; Germany
• ISSN: 0007-1234; 1469-2112
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007123409000696

The formation of new party systems involves processes that significantly distinguish them from the transformation of established ones. In new party systems historical legacies matter, timing and sequencing of events have important consequences, and politicians do not just limit themselves to winning votes but employ a wide range of co-ordination strategies (i.e. electoral coalitions, party switching, manipulation of electoral vote-counting procedures) to make votes count more effectively. The literature has identified many of these causal factors individually without, however, thinking systematically about their interactions. This article borrows from recent work on path dependency to analyse such interactions in greater depth and pays closer attention to the distinct temporal dynamics shaping the formation of new party systems.