Abstract
In parliamentary democracies, governments are based on bargains among politicians and parties. These bargains, both implicit and explicit, have profound implications not only for who gets into government, but how they govern, how long they endure, and how voters respond. This chapter examines the development and testing of bargaining models of government formation, following its evolution from simple abstract models that rest on strong assumptions to examine more nuanced and complex models of government formation. It focuses in particular on recent theoretical and empirical developments that aim to better capturing the diverse nature of the actors involved in government formation and their various goals, as well as better specify the nature and variation in bargaining processes and bargaining context.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Acemoglu, D., Egorov, G., & Sonin, K. (2008). Coalition formation in nondemocracies. Review of Economic Studies, 75(4), 987–1009.
Adrian, C. R., & Press, C. (1968). Decision costs in coalition formation. American Political Science Review, 62(2), 556–563.
Altman, D. (2000). The politics of coalition formation and survival in multi-party presidential democracies. Party Politics, 6(3), 259–283.
Amorim Neto, O. (2006). The presidential calculus: Executive policy-making and cabinet formation in the Americas. Comparative Political Studies, 39(10), 1292–1298.
Amorim Neto, O., & Strøm, K. (2006). Breaking the parliamentary chain of delegation: Presidents and nonpartisan cabinet members in European democracies. British Journal of Political Science, 36(4), 619–643.
Andersson, S., & Ersson, S. (2012). The European representative democracy data archive. Main sponsor Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (In 2007–0149:1–E). Principal investigator: Torbjörn Bergman. www.erdda.se.
Andeweg, R. B. (2011). From puzzles to prospects for coalition theory. In Andeweg, R. B., De Winter, L., & Dumont, P (Eds.), Puzzles of government formation (pp. 190–203). London: Routledge.
Andeweg, R. B., De Winter, L., & Dumont, P. (Eds.) (2011). Puzzles of government formation. London: Routledge.
Ansolabehere, S., Snyder, J. M., Strauss, A. B., & Ting, M. M. (2005). Voting weights and formateur advantages in the formation of coalition governments. American Journal of Political Science, 49(3), 550–563.
Austen-Smith, D., & Banks, J. S. (1990). Stable governments and the allocation of policy portfolios. American Political Science Review, 84(3), 891–906.
Axelrod, R. (1970). Conflict of interest. Chicago: Markham.
Bäck, H. (2003). Explaining and predicting coalition outcomes: Conclusions from studying data on local coalitions. European Journal of Political Research, 42(4), 441–472.
Bäck, H. (2008). Intra-party politics and coalition formation: Evidence from Swedish local government. Party Politics, 14(1), 71–89.
Bäck, H., & Dumont, P. (2007). Combining large-n and small-n strategies: The way forward in coalition research. West European Politics, 30(3), 467–501.
Bäck, H., & Dumont, P. (2008). Making the first move: A two-stage analysis of the role of formateurs in parliamentary government formation. Public Choice, 135(3/4), 353–73.
Bäck, H., Debus, M., & Dumont, P. (2011). Who gets what in coalition government? Predictors of portfolio allocation in parliamentary democracies. European Journal of Political Research, 50(4), 441–478.
Bargsted, M. A., & Kedar, O. (2009). Coalition-targeted duvergerian voting: How expectations influence voter choice under proportional representation. American Journal of Political Science, 53(2), 307–323.
Baron, D. P. (1989). A noncooperative theory of legislative coalitions. American Journal of Political Science, 33(4), 1048–1084.
Baron, D. P. (1991). A Spatial theory of government formation in parliamentary systems. American Political Science Review, 85(1), 137–165.
Baron, D. P. (1993). Government formation and endogenous parties. American Political Science Review, 87(1), 33–47.
Baron, D. P. (1998). Comparative dynamics of parliamentary governments. American Political Science Review, 92(3), 593–609.
Baron, D. P., & Diermeier, D. (2001). Elections, governments, and parliaments in proportional representation systems. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(3), 933–967.
Baron, D. P., & Ferejohn, J. A. (1989). Bargaining in legislatures. American Political Science Review, 83(4), 1181–1206.
Bawn, K., & Rosenbluth, F. (2006). Short versus long coalitions: Electoral accountability and the size of the public sector. American Journal of Political Science, 50(2), 251–265.
Bergman, T. (1993). Formation rules and minority governments. European Journal of Political Research, 23(1), 55–66.
Black, D. (1958). The theory of committees and elections. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Blais, A., Aldrich, J., Indriðason, I. H., & Levine, R. (2006). Do voters vote for government coalitions? Testing Downs’ pessimistic conclusion. Party Politics, 12(6), 691–705.
Browne, E. C. (1973). Coalition theories: A logical and empirical critique. London: Sage Professional Papers.
Budge, I., & Keman, H. (1990). Parties and democracy: Coalition formation and government functioning in twenty states. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Budge, I., & Laver, M. (1986). Office seeking and policy pursuit in coalition theory. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 11(4), 485–506.
Carroll, R., & Cox, G. W. (2007). The logic of Gamson’s Law: Pre-election coalitions and portfolio allocations. American Journal of Political Science, 51(2), 300–313.
Carruba, C. J., & Volden, C. (2000). Coalitional politics and logrolling in legislative institutions. American Journal of Political Science, 44(2), 261–277.
Cheibub, J. A., Przeworski, A., & Saiegh, S. (2004). Government coalitions and legislative success under presidentialism and parliamentarism. British Journal of Political Science, 34(4), 565–587.
Crombez, C. (1996). Minority government, minimal winning coalitions and surplus majorities in parliamentary systems. European Journal of Political Research, 29(1), 1–29.
De Swaan, A. (1973). Coalition theories and cabinet formation. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
De Winter, L., & Dumont, P. (2006). Parties into government: Still many puzzles. In Katz, R. S., & Crotty, W. J. (Eds.), Handbook of party politics (pp. 175–188). London: Sage.
Debus, M. (2008). Office and policy payoffs in coalition governments. Party Politics, 14(5), 515–538.
Debus, M. (2009). Pre-electoral commitments and government formation. Public Choice, 138(1/2), 45–64.
Diermeier, D. (2006). Coalition government. In Weingast and Wittman (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of political economy (pp. 162–179). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Diermeier, D., & Merlo, A. (2000). Government turnover in parliamentary democracies. Journal of Economic Theory, 94(1), 46–79.
Diermeier, D., & Merlo, A. (2004). An empirical investigation of coalitional bargaining procedures. Journal of Public Economics, 88(3), 783–797.
Diermeier, D., Eraslan, H., & Merlo, A. (2002). Coalition government and comparative constitutional design. European Economic Review, 46(4), 893–907.
Diermeier, D., Eraslan, H., & Merlo, A. (2003). A structural model of government formation. Econometrica, 71(1), 27–70.
Diermeier, D., Eraslan, H., & Merlo, A. (2006). The effects of constitutions on coalition governments in parliamentary democracies. In Congleton, R. D., & Swedenborg, B. (Eds.), Democratic constitutional design and public policy (pp. 133–161). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Diermeier, D., Eraslan, J., & Merlo, A. (2007). Bicameralism and government formation. Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 2(3), 227–252.
Dodd, L. C. (1976). Coalitions in parliamentary government. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Downs, A. (1957). An economic theory of democracy. New York: Harper & Row.
Downs, W. (1998). Coalition government subnational style: Multiparty politics in European regional parliaments. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Druckman, J. (1996). Party factionalism and cabinet durability. Party Politics, 2(3), 397–407.
Druckman, J., & Thies, M. (2002). The importance of concurrence: The impact of bicameralism on government formation and duration. American Journal of Political Science, 46(4), 760–771.
Druckman, J., Martin, L., & Thies, M. (2005). Influence without confidence: Upper chambers and government formation. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 30(4), 529–548.
Dunleavy, P., & Bastow, S. (2001). Modelling coalitions that cannot coalesce: a critique of the Laver-Shepsle approach. West European Politics, 24(1), 1–26.
Franklin, M., & Mackie, T. (1983). Familiarity and inertia in the formation of governing coalitions in parliamentary democracies. British Journal of Political Science, 13(3), 275–298.
Franklin, M., & Mackie, T. (1984). Reassessing the importance of size and ideology for the formation of governing coalitions in parliamentary democracies. American Journal of Political Science, 28(4), 671–692.
Gamson, W. A. (1961). A theory of coalition formation. American Sociological Review, 26(3), 373–382.
Gianetti, D., & Benoit, K. (Eds.). (2008). Intra-party politics and coalition governments in parliamentary democracies. London: Routledge.
Glasgow, G., Golder, M., & Golder, S. (2011). Who “wins”? Determining the party of the prime minister. American Journal of Political Science, 55(4), 937–954.
Glasgow, G., Golder, M., & Golder, S. (2012). New empirical strategies for the study of parliamentary government formation. Political Analysis, 20(2), 248–270.
Golder, S. (2006a). Pre-electoral coalition formation in parliamentary democracies. British Journal of Political Science, 36(2), 193–212.
Golder, S. (2006b). The logic of pre-electoral coalition formation. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Golder, S., & Conrad, C. R. (2010). Measuring government duration and stability in Central Eastern European democracies. European Journal of Political Research, 49(1), 119–150.
Golder, M., Golder, S., & Siegel, D. (2012). Modeling the institutional foundations of parliamentary government formation. Journal of Politics, 74(2), 427–445.
Grofman, B. (1989). The comparative analysis of coalition formation and duration: Distinguishing between-country and within-country effects. British Journal of Political Science, 19(2), 291–302.
Indriðason, I. H. (2005). A theory of coalitions and clientelism: Coalition politics in Iceland 1945–2000. European Journal of Political Research, 44(3), 439–464.
Jungar, A. C. (2000). Surplus majority governments: A comparative study of Italy and Finland. Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet.
Kedar, O. (2005). When moderate voters prefer extreme parties: policy bargaining in parliamentary elections. American Political Science Review, 99(2), 185–199.
Kedar, O. (2009). Voting for policy, not parties: How voters compensate for power sharing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kernell, S., Jacobson, G. C., & Kousser, T. (2010). The logic of American politics. Washington: CQ Press.
Lasswell, H. D. (1958). Politics: Who gets what, when, how. New York: Meridian Books.
Laver, M. (1998). Models of government formation. Annual Reviews of Political Science, 1(1), 1–25.
Laver, M., & Schofield, N. (1990). Multiparty government: The politics of coalition in Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Laver, M., & Shepsle, K. A. (1990a). Coalitions and cabinet government. American Political Science Review, 84(3), 873–890.
Laver, M., & Shepsle, K. A. (1990b). Government coalitions and intraparty politics. British Journal of Political Science, 20(4), 489–507.
Laver, M., & Shepsle, K. A. (1993). A theory of minority government in parliamentary democracy. In F. W. Scharpf (Ed.), Games in hierarchies and networks (pp. 429–447). Boulder: Westview.
Laver, M., & Shepsle, K. A. (Eds.). (1994). Cabinet ministers and parliamentary government. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Laver, M., & Shepsle, K. A. (1996). Making and breaking governments: Cabinets and legislatures in parliamentary democracies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Leiserson, M. (1966). Coalitions in politics. PhD thesis. Yale University, New Haven.
Luebbert, G. M. (1984). Comparative democracy: Policymaking and governing coalitions in Europe and Israel. New York: Columbia University Press.
Lupia, A., & Strøm, K. (2008). Bargaining, transaction costs and coalition governance. In K. Strøm, W. C. Müller, & T. Bergman (Eds.), Cabinets and coalition bargaining: The democratic life cycle in Western Europe (pp. 51–83). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Magaloni, B. (2008). Credible power-sharing and the ousting of authoritarian rule. Comparative Political Studies, 41(4–5), 715–741.
Martin, L. W., & Stevenson, R. T. (2001). Government formation in parliamentary democracies. American Journal of Political Science, 45(1), 33–50.
Martin, L. W., & Stevenson, R. T. (2010). The conditional impact of incumbency on government formation. American Political Science Review, 104(3), 503–518.
Mattila, M., & Raunio, T. (2004). Does winning pay? Electoral success and government formation in 15 West European countries. European Journal of Political Research, 43(2), 263–285.
McKelvey, R. D. (1976). Intransitivities in multidimensional voting models and some implications for agenda control. Journal of Economic Theory, 12(3), 472–482.
Mershon, C. (1996). The costs of coalition: Coalition theories and Italian governments. American Political Science Review, 90(3), 534–554.
Mershon, C. (2002). The costs of coalition. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press.
Meyer, T. M. (2012). Dropping the unitary actor assumption: the impact of intra-party delegation on coalition governance. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 24(4), 485–506.
Mitchell, P., & Nyblade, B. (2008). Government formation and cabinet type in parliamentary democracies. In K. Strøm, W. C. Müller, & T. Bergman (Eds.), Cabinets and coalition bargaining: The democratic life cycle in Western Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Müller, W.C. (2009). Government formation. In Landman and Robinson (Eds.), The sage handbook of comparative politics (pp. 227–245). London: Sage Publications.
Müller, W. C., & Strøm, K. (Eds.). (1998). Policy, office or votes? How political parties make hard choices. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Müller, W. C., & Strøm, K. (Eds.). (2000). Coalition governments in Western Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Narud, H. M., & Valen, H. (2008). Coalition membership and electoral performance in Western Europe. In K. Strøm, W. C. Müller, & T. Bergman (Eds.), Cabinets and coalition bargaining: The democratic life cycle in Western Europe (pp. 369–402). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pedersen, H. H. (2010). How intra-party power relations affect the coalition behavior of political parties. Party Politics, 16(6), 737–754.
Pedersen, H. H. (2012). What do parties want? Policy versus office. West European Politics, 35(4), 896–910.
Riker, W. (1962). The theory of political coalitions. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Rose, R., & Mackie, T. T. (1983). Incumbency in government: Asset or liability? In H. Daalder & P. Mair (Eds.), Western European party systems: Continuity and change (pp. 115–137). London: Sage.
Rubinstein, A. (1982). Perfect equilibrium in a bargaining model. Econometrica, 50(1), 97–109.
Schofield, N. (1978). Instability of simple dynamic games. Review of Economic Studies, 45(3), 575–594.
Schofield, N. (1993). Political competition and multiparty coalition governments. European Journal of Political Research, 23(1), 1–33.
Schofield, N. (1997). Coalition politics and representative democracy. European Journal of Political Research, 31(1/2), 183–192.
Sened, I. (1996). A model of coalition formation: Theory and evidence. Journal of Politics, 58(2), 350–372.
Shapley, L., & Shubik, M. (1954). A method for evaluating the distribution of power in a committee system. American Political Science Review, 48(3), 787–792.
Shepsle, K. A. (1979). Institutional arrangements and equilibrium in multidimensional voting models. American Journal of Political Science, 23(1), 27–60.
Shepsle, K. A., & Weingast, B. (1981). Structure-induced equilibrium and legislative choice. Public Choice, 37(3), 503–519.
Strøm, K. (1984). Minority governments in parliamentary democracies: The rationality of nonwinning cabinet solutions. Comparative Political Studies, 17(2), 199–227.
Strøm, K. (1990a). Minority governments and majority rule. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Strøm, K. (1990b). A behavioral theory of competitive political parties. American Journal of Political Science, 34(2), 565–598.
Strøm, K. (1994). The Presthus debacle: Intraparty politics and bargaining failure in Norway. American Political Science Review, 88(1), 112–127.
Strøm, K., & Nyblade, B. (2007). Coalition theory and government formation. In C. Boix & S. Stokes (Eds.), Oxford handbook of comparative politics (pp. 782–802). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Strøm, K., Budge, I., & Laver, M. (1994). Constraints on cabinet formation in parliamentary democracies. American Journal of Political Science, 38(2), 303–335.
Strøm, K., Müller, W. C., & Bergman, T. (Eds.) (2003). Delegation and accountability in parliamentary democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Strøm, K., Müller, W. C., & Bergman, T. (Eds.) (2008). Cabinets and coalition bargaining: The democratic life cycle in Western Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tavits, M. (2008). The role of parties past behavior in coalition formation. American Political Science Review, 102(4), 495–507.
Taylor, M., & Laver, M. (1973). Government coalitions in Western Europe. European Journal of Political Research, 1(3), 205–248.
van Roozendaal, P. (1990). Centre parties and coalition cabinet formation: A game-theoretic approach. European Journal of Political Research, 18(3), 324–348.
Volden, C., & Carrubba, C. (2004). The formation of oversize coalitions in parliamentary democracies. American Journal of Political Science, 48(3), 521–537.
von Neumann, I., & Morgenstern, O. (1953). Theory of games and economic behavior. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Warwick, P. V. (1996). Coalition government membership in West European parliamentary democracies. British Journal of Political Science, 26(4), 471–499.
Warwick, P. V. (2000). Policy horizons in West European parliamentary systems. European Journal of Political Research, 38(1), 37–61.
Warwick, P. V. (2005). Do policy horizons structure the formation of coalition governments? The evidence from an expert survey. American Journal of Political Science, 49(2), 373–387.
Warwick, P. V. (2006). Policy horizons and parliamentary government. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Warwick, P. V., & Druckman, J. (2001). Portfolio salience and the proportionality of payoffs in coalition governments. British Journal of Political Science, 31(4), 627–649.
Woldendorp, J. J., Keman, H., & Budge, I. (2000). Party government in 48 democracies. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Nyblade, B. (2013). Government Formation in Parliamentary Democracies. In: Müller, W., Narud, H. (eds) Party Governance and Party Democracy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6588-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6588-1_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6587-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6588-1
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)