Economic crises and the nationalisation of politics Articles uri icon

publication date

  • November 2017

start page

  • 777

end page

  • 800

issue

  • 4

volume

  • 56

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0304-4130

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1475-6765

abstract

  • The literature on party system nationalisation has yet to provide a better understanding of the
    impact of short-term factors upon the nationalisation of politics. This article helps to fill this literature
    gap by analysing the effect of economic conditions on party system nationalisation. The argument is that
    economic crises will decrease levels of nationalisation by amplifying territorial variation in preferences
    for redistribution, limiting political parties" capacity to coordinate divergent interests across districts and
    triggering the emergence of new political forces.Data on 47 countries for the 1960–2011 period confirm this
    hypothesis and show that lower economic growth during the years prior to the election is associated with a
    decrease in levels of party system nationalisation in the next election. The result is robust to variation in the
    specification of the econometric model and to the use of different measures of nationalisation. Results also
    show that federal institutions increase the impact of economic conditions on the nationalisation of politics,
    whereas any moderating effect of electoral system proportionality on the economy is not found.

subjects

  • Politics

keywords

  • economic crises; party system nationalisation; federalism; electoral systems