European Centre for Research on Federalism

Themen der Forschung [Research Issues]

Regionalisierung der politischen Willensbildung: Parteien und Parteiensysteme in föderalen oder regionalisierten Staaten

Klaus Detterbeck / Wolfgang Renzsch

pp. 88-106

The article takes an institutionalist perspective on the structuring forces of party competition in federal and regionalized systems. We argue that the development of party organizations and party systems is not simply determined by social cleavages but also depends on the institutional framework in which parties act. Here we focus on different types of federal arrangements and their impact on party competition. Our general argument is that the logic of federal bargains predominates the structures of party competition as soon as functional cleavages like class and religion lose their integrating forces. Thus, there is a strong regionalization of party competition in the dual federations of Belgium and Canada, whereas the tendency is weak in Australia with her strong class cleavage. In joint federal systems like Germany, the vertical integration of parties and party systems is coming under stress as soon as the socio-economic and cultural disparities between the regions increase.

Suggested citation for this article:
Detterbeck, Klaus/Renzsch, Wolfgang 2004: Regionalisierung der politischen Willensbildung: Parteien und Parteiensysteme in föderalen oder regionalisierten Staaten, in: Europäisches Zentrum für Föderalismus-Forschung (ed.): Jahrbuch des Föderalismus 2004. Föderalismus, Subsidiarität und Regionen in Europa, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, p. 88-106.