Party Change in Southern Europe

It has been argued that political parties are weakening. In Southern Europe, however, political parties have shown remarkable pragmatism. Not only have they played a crucial role in the installation and consolidation of democracy, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s, but they have also adapted to the aftermaths of severe political crises during the 1990s.

Party Change in Southern Europe addresses a basic issue: Have parties in Southern Europe weakened over the decade 1995-2005? Or have they rather changed? And if so, how have they changed? To answer these questions the authors analyze the transformations undergone by the two main parties in Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Turkey and Cyprus (North and South) focusing on several dimensions of change. For each political group, systematic analysis is offered on:

• party organization
• electoral politics
• competitive strategies
• party values and programmes.

This book was previously published as a special issue of South European Society and Politics.