In an attempt to test theories of the decline of political parties, survey data from the United States, Great Britain, Sweden and Norway are presented, and the literature on those nations is reviewed as well as that on France and West Germany. The conclusion is that party decline is by no means universal, nor does it take the same form where it does appear, or among the same social groups. Therefore far too much generalizing has been done, and the decline of party should be considered a nation-specific phenomenon rather than one that applies across most western industrialized nations and for similar reasons.
Alderman, G.
(1978) British Elections. London: Batsford.
2.
Alt, J.E.
(1984), `Dealignment and the Dynamics of Partisanship in Britain', in R.J. Dalton, S.C. Flanagan and P.A. Beck (eds) Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies, pp. 298-329. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
3.
Baker, K.L.
, R.J. Dalton and K. Hildebrandt (1981) Germany Transformed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
4.
Beck, P.A.
(1977) `Partisan Dealignment in the Post-war South', American Political Science Review71: 477-496.
5.
Beck, P.A.
(1984) `The Dealignment Era in America', in R.J. Dalton, S.C. Flanagan and P.A. Beck (eds) Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies, pp. 240-266. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
6.
Bell, D.
(1976) The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism. New York: Basic Books.
7.
Berger, S.
(1979) `Politics and Antipolitics in Western Europe in the Seventies', Daedalus108: 27-50.
8.
Berger, S.
(1980) `Discontinuity in the Politics of Industrial Society', in S. Berger and M.J. Piore (eds) Dualism and Discontinuity in Industrial Societies, pp. 132-149. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
9.
Bibby, J.F.
, T.E. Mann and N.J. Ornstein (1980) Vital Statistics on Congress, 1980. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.
10.
Blondel, J.
(1978) Political Parties: A Genuine Case for Discontent?London: Wildwood House.
11.
Borre, O.
(1984) `Critical Electoral Change in Scandinavia', in R.J. Dalton, S.C. Flanagan and P.A. Beck (eds) Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies, pp. 330-364. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
12.
Budge, I.
and D. Farlie (1976) `A Comparative Analysis of Factors Correlated with Turnout and Voting Choice', in I. Budge, I. Crewe and D. Farlie (eds) Party Identification and Beyond, pp. 103-126. London: Wiley.
13.
Burnham, W.D.
(1965) `The Changing Shape of the American Political Universe', American Political Science Review59: 7-28.
14.
Burnham, W.D.
(1970) Critical Elections and the Mainsprings of American Politics. New York: W.W. Norton.
15.
Butler, D.
and G. Butler (1986) British Political Facts 1900-1985, 6th ed.London: Macmillan.
16.
Cain, B.E.
and J. Ferejohn (1981) `Party Identification in the United States and Great Britain', Comparative Political Studies14: 31-47.
17.
Caldeira, G.A.
and F.I. Greenstein (1978) `Partisan Orientation and Political Socialization in Britain, France, and the United States', Political Science Quarterly93: 35-49.
18.
Cameron, D.R.
(1972) `Stability and Change in Patterns of French Partisanship', Public Opinion Quarterly36: 19-30.
19.
Campbell, B.A.
(1977) `Patterns of Change in the Partisan Loyalties of Native Southerners: 1952-1972', Journal of Politics39: 730-761.
20.
Carmines, E.G.
and J.A. Stimson (1981) `Issue Evolution, Population Replacement and Normal Partisan Change', American Political Science Review75: 107-118.
21.
Carmines, E.G.
and J.A. Stimson (1984) `The Dynamics of Issue Evolution', in R.J. Dalton, S.C. Flanagan and P.A. Beck (eds) Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies, pp. 134-158. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
22.
Cassel, C.A.
(1977) `Cohort Analysis of Party Identification Among Southern Whites', Public Opinion Quarterly41: 28-33.
23.
Charlot, J.
(1986) `La transformation de l'image des partis politiques français', Revue Française de Science Politique36: 5-13.
24.
Converse, P.E.
and R. Pierce (1986) Political Representation in France. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
25.
Crewe, I.
(1976) `Party Identification Theory and Political Change in Britain', in I. Budge, I. Crewe and D. Farlie (eds) Party Identification and Beyond, pp. 33-61. London: Wiley.
26.
Crewe, I.
(1980) `Prospects for Party Realignment', Comparative Politics12: 379-400.
27.
Crewe, I.
(1983) `The Electorate: Partisan Dealignment Ten Years On', West European Politics6: 183-215.
28.
Crewe, I.
(1985) `Great Britain', in I. Crewe and D. Denver (eds) Electoral Change in Western Democracies, pp. 100-150. New York: St Martin's Press.
29.
Crewe, I.
and D. Denver (eds) (1985) Electoral Change in Western Democracies. New York: St Martin's Press.
30.
Crewe I.
, B. Särlvik and J. Alt (1977) `Partisan Dealignment in Britain 1964-1974', British Journal of Political Science7: 129-190.
31.
Criddle B.
(1987) `France: Parties in a Presidential System', in A. Ware (ed.) Political Parties: Electoral Change and Structural Response, pp. 137-157. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
32.
Crozier, M.
, S.P. Huntington and J. Watanuki (1975) The Crisis of Democracy. New York: New York University Press.
33.
Daalder, H.
(1983) `The Contemporary Study of European Parties and Party Systems', in H. Daalder and P. Mair (eds) Western European Party Systems, pp. 1-27. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
34.
Dalton, R.J.
(1984) `The West German Party System Between Two Ages', in R.J. Dalton, S.C. Flanagan and P.A. Beck (eds) Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies, pp. 104-133. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
35.
Dalton, R.J.
(1988) Citizen Politics in Western Democracies. Chatham, NJ: Chatham House.
36.
Dalton, R.J.
, P.A. Beck and S.C. Flanagan (1984) `Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies', in R.J. Dalton, S.C. Flanagan and P.A. Beck (eds) Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies, pp. 3-22. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
37.
Dalton, R.J.
, S.C. Flanagan and P.A. Beck (1984) `Political Forces and Partisan Change', in R.J. Dalton, S.C. Flanagan and P.A. Beck (eds) Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies, pp. 451-476. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
38.
Dennis, J.
(1966) `Support for the Party System by the Mass Public', American Political Science Review60: 600-615.
39.
Denver, D.
(1985) `Conclusion', in I. Crewe and D. Denver (eds) Electoral Change in Western Democracies, pp. 400-412. New York: St Martin's Press.
40.
DiPalma, G.
(1986) `Party Government and Democratic Reproducibility', in F.G. Castles and R. Wildenmann (eds) Visions and Realities of Party Government, pp. 178-204. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
41.
Dittrich, K.
and L.N. Johansen (1983) `Voting Turnout in Europe, 1945-1978', in H. Daalder and P. Mair (eds) Western European Party Systems, pp. 95-114. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
42.
Döring, H.
(1987) `Party Government in Britain - Recent Conspicuous Constraints', in R.S. Katz (ed.) Party Governments: European and American Experiences, pp. 118-154. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
43.
Duverger, M.
(1974) Modern Democracies, transl. Charles L. Markmann. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
44.
Fiorina, M.
(1987) `Party Government in the United States: Diagnosis and Prognosis', in R.S. Katz (ed.) Party Governments: European and American Experiences, pp. 270-300. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
45.
Fisher, S.L.
(1980) `The “Decline of Parties” Thesis and the Role of Minor Parties', in P. Merkl (ed.) Western European Party Systems, pp. 609-613. New York: Free Press.
46.
Frankel, C.
(1964) `Bureaucracy and Democracy in the New Europe', in S.R. Graubard (ed.) A New Europe?, pp. 538-559. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
47.
Grunberg, G.
(1985) `France' in I. Crewe and D. Denver (eds) Electoral Change in Western Democracies, pp. 202-229. New York: St Martin's Press.
48.
Haas, E.B.
(1964) `Technology, Pluralism and the New Europe', in S.R. Graubard (ed.) A New Europe?, pp. 62-88. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
49.
Habermas, J.
(1975) Legitimation Crisis. Boston: Beacon Press.
50.
Harrop, M.
(1977) `Beliefs, Feelings and Votes', British Journal of Political Science7: 301-320.
51.
Holmberg, S.
(1988) `Basic Trends in Swedish Voting Behavior', Paper presented to meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies, Eugene, Oregon.
52.
Holmberg, S.
and M. Gilljam (1987) Väljare och val i Sverige. Stockholm: Albert Bonniers Forlag.
53.
Hult, S.R. (1987) `Intern parlamentarisk opposisjon i Arbeiderpartiet og Høyre', Institutt for Sammenlignende politikk, Universitetet i Bergen.
54.
Huntington, S.P.
(1974) `Post-industrial Politics: How Benign Will It Be?', Comparative Politics6: 163-191.
55.
Inglehart, R.
(1977) The Silent Revolution. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
56.
Inglehart, R.
and A. Hochstein (1972) `Alignment and Dealignment of the Electorate in France and the United States', Comparative Political Studies5: 343-372.
57.
Kaase, M.
(1980) `The Crisis of Authority: Myth and Reality', in R. Rose (ed.) Challenge to Governance, pp. 175-198. Beverly Hills and London: Sage.
58.
Kaase, M.
(1987) `On the Meaning of Electoral Change in Democratic Politics', Political Studies35: 482-489.
59.
King, A.
(1969) `Political Parties in Western Democracies', Polity2: 111-141.
60.
King, A.
(1975) `Overload: Problems of Governing in the 1970s', Political Studies23: 284-296.
61.
Klingemann, H.-D.
(1985) `West Germany', in I. Crewe and D. Denver (eds) Electoral Change in Western Democracies, pp. 230-263. New York: St Martin's Press.
62.
Lane, J.-E.
and S.O. Ersson (1987) Politics and Society in Western Europe. London: Sage Publications.
63.
Lawson, K.
and P.H. Merkl (eds) (1988) When Parties Fail. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
64.
LeDuc, L.
(1981) `The Dynamic Properties of Party Identification'European Journal of Political Research9: 257-268.
65.
Lewis-Beck, M.S.
(1984) `France: The Stalled Electorate', in R.J. Dalton, S.C. Flanagan and P.A. Beck (eds) Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies, pp. 425-448. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
66.
Maguire, M.
(1983) `Is There Still Persistence? Electoral Change in Western Europe, 1948-1979', in H. Daalder and P. Mair (eds) Western European Party Systems, pp. 67-94. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Publications.
67.
Mair, P.
(1983) `Adaptation and Control: Towards an Understanding of Party and Party System Change', in H. Daalder and P. Mair (eds) Western European Party Systems, pp. 405-429. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
68.
Mair, P.
(1984) `Party Politics in Contemporary Europe: A Challenge to Party?', in S. Bartolini and P. Mair (eds) Party Politics in Contemporary Western Europe, pp. 170-184. London: Frank Cass.
69.
Miller, W.E.
(1976) `The Cross-national Use of Party Identification as a Stimulus to Political Inquiry', in I. Budge, I. Crewe and D. Farlie (eds) Party Identification and Beyond, pp. 21-31. London: Wiley.
70.
Miller, W.E.
, A.H. Miller and E.J. Schneider (1980) American National Election Studies Data Sourcebook, 1952-1978. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
71.
Mishler, W.
, M. Hoskin and R.E. Fitzgerald (1988) `Hunting the Snark: or Searching for Evidence of That Widely Touted but Highly Elusive Resurgence of Public Support for Conservative Parties in Britain, Canada, and the United States', in B. Cooper, A. Kornberg and W. Mishler (eds) The Resurgence of Conservatism in Anglo-American Democracies, pp. 54-95. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
72.
Mughan, A.
(1981) `The Cross-national Validity of Party Identification', Political Studies29: 365-375.
73.
Nisbet, R.
(1975) Twilight of Authority. New York: Oxford University Press.
74.
Norpoth, H.
(1978) `Party Identification in West Germany', Comparative Political Studies11: 36-61.
75.
Norton, P.
(1980) Dissension in the House of Commons, 1974-1979. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
76.
Offe, C.
(1985) `The Attribution of Public Status to Interest Groups', in C. Offe, Disorganized Capitalism, pp. 221-258. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
77.
Padgett, S.
and T. Burkett (1986) Political Parties and Elections in West Germany. New York: St Martin's Press.
78.
Pasquino, G.
(1986) `The Impact of Institutions on Party Government', in F.G. Castles and R. Wildenmann (eds) Visions and Realities of Party Government, pp. 120-142. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
79.
Pedersen, M.N.
(1979) `The Dynamics of European Party Systems', European Journal of Political Research7: 1-26.
80.
Petrocik, J.R.
(1981) Party Coalitions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
81.
Pettersen, P.A.
(1981) `Identification, Agreement and Government Performance', Scandinavian Political Studies4: 221-252.
82.
Pomper, G.M.
(1972) `From Confusion to Clarity', American Political Science Review66: 415-428.
83.
Przeworski, A.
(1975) `Institutionalization of Voting Patterns, or Is Mobilization the Source of Decay?', American Political Science Review69: 49-67.
84.
Przeworski, A.
and H. Teune (1970) The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry. New York: Wiley.
85.
Reif, K.
(1987) `Party Government in the Fifth French Republic', in R.S. Katz (ed.) Party Governments: European and American Experiences, pp. 27-77. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
86.
Rose, R.
(1974) The Problem of Party Government. New York: The Free Press.
87.
Rose, R.
(1980) `The Nature of the Challenge', in R. Rose (ed.) Challenge to Governance. pp. 5-28. Beverly Hills and London: Sage.
88.
Sabato, L.J.
(1988) The Party's Just Begun. Glenwood, IL: Scott, Foresman.
89.
Särlvik, B.
and I. Crewe (1983) Decade of Dealignment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
90.
Schmitter, P.C.
(1981) `Interest Intermediation and Regime Governability in Contemporary Western Europe and North America', in S. Berger (ed.) Organizing Interests in Western Europe, pp. 285-327. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
91.
Shively, W.P.
(1972) `Party Identification, Party Choice, and Voting Stability', American Political Science Review66: 1203-1225.
92.
Sjöblom, G.
(1983) `Political Change and Political Accountability', in H. Daalder and P. Mair (eds) Western European Party Systems, pp. 369-403. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
93.
Sjöblom, G.
(1986) `Problems and Problem Solutions in Politics', in F.G. Castles and R. Wildenmann (eds) Visions and Realities of Party Government, pp. 72-119. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
94.
Sjöblom, G.
(1987) `The Role of Political Parties in Denmark and Sweden, 1970-1984', in R.S. Katz (ed.) Party Governments: European and American Experiences, pp. 155-201. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
95.
Smith, G.
(1986) `The Futures of Party Government: A Framework for Analysis', in F.G. Castles and R. Wildenmann (eds) Visions and Realities of Party Government, pp. 205-235. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
96.
Stanley, H.W.
and R.G. Niemi (1988) Vital Statistics on American Politics. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.
97.
Sundberg, J.
(1987) `Exploring the Basis of Declining Party Membership in Denmark', Scandinavian Political Studies10: 17-38.
98.
Tate, C.N.
(1980) `The Centrality of Party in Voting Choice', in P. Merkl (ed.) Western European Party Systems, pp. 367-401. New York: Free Press.
99.
Thomassen, J.
(1976) `Party Identification as a Cross-national Concept', in I. Budge, I. Crewe and D. Farlie (eds) Party Identification and Beyond, pp. 63-79. London: Wiley.
100.
Urwin, D.W.
(1987) `Norway: Parties Between Mass Membership and Consumer-oriented Professionalism?', in A. Ware (ed.) Political Parties: Electoral Change and Structural Response, pp. 183-204. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
101.
von Beyme, K.
(1985) Political Parties in Western Democracies. New York: St Martin's Press.
102.
Ware, A.
(1987) `Introduction: Parties Under Electoral Competition', in A. Ware (ed.) Political Parties: Electoral Change and Structural Response, pp. 1-23. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
103.
Wattenberg, M.P.
(1986) The Decline of American Political Parties 1952-1984. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
104.
Weissberg, R.
(1986) `The Democratic Party and the Conflict Over Racial Policy', in B. Ginsberg and A. Stone (eds) Do Elections Matter?, pp. 204-220. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
105.
Whiteley, P.
(1983) The Labour Party in Crisis. London: Methuen.
106.
Wildenmann, R.
(1986) `The Problematic of Party Government', in F.G. Castles and R. Wildenmann (eds) Visions and Realities of Party Government, pp. 1-30. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
107.
Wilson, F.L.
(1979) `The Revitalization of French Politics', Comparative Political Studies12: 82-103.
108.
Wilson, F.L.
(1982) French Political Parties Under the Fifth Republic. New York: Praeger.
109.
Wilson, F.L.
and R. Wiste (1976) `Party Cohesion in the French National Assembly: 1958-1973', Legislative Studies Quarterly1: 467-490.
110.
Wolfe, A.
(1977) The Limits of Legitimacy. New York: Free Press.
111.
Wolinetz, S.B.
(1979) `The Transformation of Western European Party Systems Revisited', West European Politics2: 4-28.
112.
Wyckoff, G.
(1968) The Image Candidates. New York: Macmillan.