The Quantity and the Quality of Party System

Introduction

Research typically counts the quantity of parties (many research examines the merits of a two-party system vs a multiparty system and links the number of parties to the representation of social cleavages in voting behavior, turnout in elections, representation, and levels of poltiical conflict) . The more property is the quality of party competition - the polarization of political parties within a party system.

Why polarization is important to study?

A new measurement of party system polarization based on voter perceptions of party positions in the Comparative Study of ELectoral Sytems.

Comparation of party polarization and party fractionalization as influences on cleavage-based and ideological voting asn as predictors of turnout levels.

Instead of counting the quantity of parties, a moreimportant property is the quality of party system.

Party System polarization reflexts the degree of ideological differentiation among political parties in a system. The polarization of a party system is a property that can be independent of the number of parties. Party system polarization has strong effects than party fractionalization. 


The Literature on Party Polarization

Downs: concept of the spatial modeling of party systems, in which political parties and voters are aligned along a Left and Right continuum. Framework for party competition.  Two party system would converge to the center, multiparty systems would be spread along the dimension. Voters in multiparty systems are given a wide range of ideological choice. Regarding ideologies is more rational in multiparty system.

Sartori: high levels of party system polarization can intensify ideological debates, weaken the legitimacy of the regime and destabilize the political system.

The spatial models converge on a common framework for studing party systems.

Measuring Party System Characteristics
Two different methods to count the number of parties to give weight to the relative size of parties and not jsut their absolute numbers: party fractionalization (satistics), and the perceptions of the electorate in the nation. (questionnaire).

This last method implies consider the Left and Right scale (ask people where they situate themselves in the scale and where they stituate the main parties).

Party systems with a large number of parties also tend to be more polarized.  The polarizzation of  a party system reflects the dispersion of citizens along the ideological dimension.

Party polarization often reflects the itnernal dynamics of electoral competition in a nation. Parties and their leaders make strategic or ideological choices when they begin a campaign, and other parties respond to these choices.

The Correlates of Polarization

Polarization has important consequences. A highly polarized system presumably produces clearer party choices, stimulates participation, affects representation, and has more intense partisan competition. The ideological gap between winners and losers is greater and the policy implications of government control are more substantial. A centrist party system should reflect greater consensus within the electoral process and less interparty conflict and less political responsiveness.

The Polarization of Voter Preferences

If parties offer limited chocies to voters, then it is not likely tha t the voters blocs will differ sharply across parties. ''Voters in multiparty systems are more likely to be swayed by doctrinal considerations than are voters in two party systems''. (Use of surveys) - more ideological diversity of choice more clearly voters translate their Left-Right orientations.

The Party System and Voting Turnout
With few choices, voters have limtied opportunities to find a party that represents their views and thus may choose to abstain from voting. However as the number of chocies icnreases voters sould more easily find a party they agree with which justifies the effort to cast a ballot.

The nature of the choises available to voters is strongly related to the level of turnout in elections. The number of parties is less important than the diversity of chocies that the parties offer.

Polarization and Democratic Politics
Counting the number of parties is often a surogate for a richer characteristic of a party system that is more difficult to measure.

Polarization and fractionalization can vary almost independently of one another. (Public eprcetions of party positions).

Clear empirical differences in the correlates of polarization and fractionalization. The polarization of a party system is related to stronger correlations between class and the Left-Right relationship with party preferences. To the extent that poltiical parties are supposed to be channels of expression that allow citizens to vote their preferences, then party system polarization substantially strenghens this process- but party fractionalization has little impact on these relationships. Voting turnout appears more strongly related to party system polarization than fracitonalization. 

Quality should count more than quantity

The Quantity and the Quality of Party Systems: Pary System Polarization, Its Measurement, and Its Consequences
Russell J. Dalton
Comparative Political Studies 2008 41:899