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Polarisierung der Parteiensysteme in Zeiten des Populismus

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Abstract

The increasingly visible populist surge affects the party systems of Western democracies. It may be expected that populism be accompanied by increasing polarization of party systems. This contribution reviews the possibilities of a comparative measurement of this polarization of party systems. There are either one-dimensional measurements on the left-right scale or multidimensional measurements. In addition, I compare the development of polarization in an international context as well as over time. The dataset encompasses 41 developed and defective democracies, covering their development over the past three mandate periods. In contrast to what could be expected according to the veto player theory, polarization matters as it predicts an increasing stagnation of reforms. The results show that polarization has grown over time in the 41 countries surveyed, particularly among countries with populist tendencies or parties. Moreover, there is a tendency towards increasing polarization in countries with a proportional representation electoral system.

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Wagschal, U. (2020). Polarisierung der Parteiensysteme in Zeiten des Populismus. In: Careja, R., Emmenegger, P., Giger, N. (eds) The European Social Model under Pressure. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27043-8_21

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