Introduction

Liberal Parties in Europe, 2019

The objective of this comparative chapter is to assess the existence of a Liberal party family on the basis of the parties’ ideological or policy orientation, which constitutes one of Mair and Mudde’s (1998) main approaches to delineate party families. The chapter departs from the criteria of transnational affiliation (belonging to the ALDE or former ELDR), and assesses the ideological distinctiveness and homogeneity of this group of parties (Elff 2013; Freire and Tsatsanis 2015) . In that way, this chapter aims to answer the question: can we talk about a Liberal party family when looking at the ideological criteria? The chapter examines the distinctiveness and homogeneity of the Liberal party family cross-sectionally and longitudinally, by using data from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES) and from the Comparative Manifesto Project (CMP). Using data on parties’ position on a variety of policy issues, the chapter estimates their placement on the two main ideological dimensions that have structured most party systems in Europe: the economic dimension, and the cultural dimension. Both the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses proceed in two steps: first, the analysis evaluates the extent to which Liberal parties have a distinct ideological placement compared to the other main European families; second, the analysis examines the degree of homogeneity of the family. This strategy reveals that Liberal parties have had and still display a distinct ideology that combines a marked right-wing position on economic issues with centre-left preferences on cultural matters. It also points out the great diversity among Liberal parties and examines the existence of three distinct enduring Liberal traditions within the Liberal ideology: the classical, the social and the conservative traditions.

Annual Review of Political Science, 1998

Abstract: This article is an overview of recent developments in the liberal party family. It examines the fortunes of the party family in selected countries. It presents a qualitative survey of certain selected new political parties, which are either too new or too obscure to have been formally classified, and/or which have not appeared in the Comparative Manifesto Project. The article provides arguments as to why these parties may be candidates for future inclusion in the liberal party family. It also examines Marie Demker’s (2008) conception of the virtue party, a scheme for examining certain

Acta Politica, 2003

The Routledge Handbook of East European Politics, 2017

Political Party, Introduction, History and Role, 2020

The stud aims to explore the term political party, its definition, historical evolution and the role of political party in any political system. This paper also presents a well analyzed structure of the organization.

Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

During the years 1991-1992, according to the authors Albanian political parties coexist modern concepts of party politics and organization with the concepts of local tradition imposed by mentality, inheritance and local circumstances. Throughout 1992- 1998 we have an increase in the number of political parties, of which two were major in 1990 in 1996, we have 65 political parties, of which 12 had representation in the parliament of the time. This increase in the number of parties by authors has come as a result of problems and internal conflicts in political parties, leading to factions and the creation of new parties in both sides of the policy. At the end of the first decade of transition, the political parties SP and PD as the two most influential parties in Albanian political life, after holding their National Assemblies, and other parties began to look to improve the public image by reforming statutes and programs leaving room for greater transparency and greater critical space...

Socialinių mokslų studijos, 2011

Political Parties, 2002

There are good reasons for re‐examining existing classifications of parties and seeing if others can be developed. However, reworking categories is a complex process, requiring further research and interaction between theory and data. This chapter is a preliminary effort, and focuses primarily on parties in established liberal democracies. The first half examines the adequacy of existing party categories in light of the literature in sections entitled: Categories and concepts in the comparative literature; Cadre versus mass parties; and Parties of mass integration, catch‐all parties, and beyond’ (to the cartel party). The second half considers ways in which contemporary parties might be compared in sections entitled: New bases for classification? Vote‐seeking, office‐seeking, and policy‐seeking parties; and Patterns of change in Western European parties.