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Parties and Voters: What Creates the Ties?
Author(s) -
Lane JanErik,
Ersson Svante
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
scandinavian political studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.65
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9477
pISSN - 0080-6757
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9477.1997.tb00191.x
Subject(s) - allegiance , reinterpretation , political science , political economy , law and economics , public administration , politics , law , sociology , physics , acoustics
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.