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Kirchheimer i Latinamerika- En undersökning av Catch- allpartier i Chile

Lekebjer, Emelie LU (2015) STVK02 20151
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Otto Kirchheimer coined the theory about the catch-all party 1966 as he observed a transformation of the West European party system. The transformation initiated with declining economic class and religious gaps in the societies of advanced democracies. This resulted in the electorate becoming more difficult to place according to specific ideological partition. Without a firm electoral base, the political parties were forced to make strategic choices and becoming vote maximizing at the expense of their ideology, resulting in the parties becoming increasingly similar as they compete for the median voter. Kirchheimer feared that with decreasing principled opposition, the parties would no longer be mediators between the population and the... (More)
Otto Kirchheimer coined the theory about the catch-all party 1966 as he observed a transformation of the West European party system. The transformation initiated with declining economic class and religious gaps in the societies of advanced democracies. This resulted in the electorate becoming more difficult to place according to specific ideological partition. Without a firm electoral base, the political parties were forced to make strategic choices and becoming vote maximizing at the expense of their ideology, resulting in the parties becoming increasingly similar as they compete for the median voter. Kirchheimer feared that with decreasing principled opposition, the parties would no longer be mediators between the population and the state, but a mere bureaucratic part of the latter. This development according to Kirchheimer results in politics lacking substance and meaningful choice.
This paper applies Michelle Hale Williams model that enables empirical testing of specific cases regarding the theory of the catch-all party. The thesis goes beyond the initial geographical context of the theory, examining the society, electorate, parties and party system in Chile. The study shows that the party system in Chile displays bipolarization and the two main party blocks indicates catch- all tendencies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Lekebjer, Emelie LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK02 20151
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
catch- allparti, catch- allteori, Chile, politiska system, Latinamerika
language
Swedish
id
5426215
date added to LUP
2015-07-13 12:31:35
date last changed
2015-07-13 12:31:35
@misc{5426215,
  abstract     = {{Otto Kirchheimer coined the theory about the catch-all party 1966 as he observed a transformation of the West European party system. The transformation initiated with declining economic class and religious gaps in the societies of advanced democracies. This resulted in the electorate becoming more difficult to place according to specific ideological partition. Without a firm electoral base, the political parties were forced to make strategic choices and becoming vote maximizing at the expense of their ideology, resulting in the parties becoming increasingly similar as they compete for the median voter. Kirchheimer feared that with decreasing principled opposition, the parties would no longer be mediators between the population and the state, but a mere bureaucratic part of the latter. This development according to Kirchheimer results in politics lacking substance and meaningful choice. 
This paper applies Michelle Hale Williams model that enables empirical testing of specific cases regarding the theory of the catch-all party. The thesis goes beyond the initial geographical context of the theory, examining the society, electorate, parties and party system in Chile. The study shows that the party system in Chile displays bipolarization and the two main party blocks indicates catch- all tendencies.}},
  author       = {{Lekebjer, Emelie}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Kirchheimer i Latinamerika- En undersökning av Catch- allpartier i Chile}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}