Abstract
Popular support for political parties has become a fragile commodity. More volatile, more fragmented and more polarized party systems have created a social and political environment in which access to vital resources is no longer safe. In this contribution, I will use the perspectives offered by the cartel party thesis for gaining insights into recent developments in party politics. Has party adaptation rescued parties from the threats of vulnerability? Looking at comparative empirical evidence, it seems that there has been neither a cartelization of public privileges among the mainstream parties nor successful processes of politicization in party competition. Moreover, the ascendancy of the party in public office has been checked by a stronger plebiscitary input of the party membership. Thus, the results of comparative studies do not support the view that cartel mechanisms has helped parties to reduce their vulnerabilities.
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Detterbeck, K. (2020). The Limits of Cartelization: Can Parties Cope with Vulnerability?. In: Bukow, S., Jun, U. (eds) Continuity and Change of Party Democracies in Europe. Politische Vierteljahresschrift Sonderhefte. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28988-1_4
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