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Offices and policies – Why do oppositional parties form pre-electoral coalitions in competitive authoritarian regimes?

Wahman, Michael LU (2011) In Electoral Studies 30(4). p.642-657
Abstract
Although previous research has suggested that the opposition’s ability to form pre-electoral coalitions (PECs) in authoritarian elections is crucial for the electoral outcome, little has been written about why and when such coalitions are formed. The aim of this article is to fill this empirical and theoretical gap. A theory that combines oppositional parties’ office- and policy-gaining potential when creating such coalitions is proposed. The article utilizes a unique database of 111 competitive authoritarian elections and provides a representative sample of strategically chosen cases. It is shown that, coalitions are more likely when structural conditions favor oppositional victories and when oppositional parties have a distinctive policy... (More)
Although previous research has suggested that the opposition’s ability to form pre-electoral coalitions (PECs) in authoritarian elections is crucial for the electoral outcome, little has been written about why and when such coalitions are formed. The aim of this article is to fill this empirical and theoretical gap. A theory that combines oppositional parties’ office- and policy-gaining potential when creating such coalitions is proposed. The article utilizes a unique database of 111 competitive authoritarian elections and provides a representative sample of strategically chosen cases. It is shown that, coalitions are more likely when structural conditions favor oppositional victories and when oppositional parties have a distinctive policy agenda in relation to the incumbent government. These factors are shown to be more important than electoral institutions. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Coalition, Authoritarian, Party, Opposition, Policy, Democratization, Election
in
Electoral Studies
volume
30
issue
4
pages
642 - 657
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000298126000005
  • scopus:81555209704
ISSN
1873-6890
DOI
10.1016/j.electstud.2011.05.009
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9bb6e76f-9b89-417c-bd1c-a273c5d3b3d4 (old id 2204895)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:39:54
date last changed
2022-04-12 08:25:44
@article{9bb6e76f-9b89-417c-bd1c-a273c5d3b3d4,
  abstract     = {{Although previous research has suggested that the opposition’s ability to form pre-electoral coalitions (PECs) in authoritarian elections is crucial for the electoral outcome, little has been written about why and when such coalitions are formed. The aim of this article is to fill this empirical and theoretical gap. A theory that combines oppositional parties’ office- and policy-gaining potential when creating such coalitions is proposed. The article utilizes a unique database of 111 competitive authoritarian elections and provides a representative sample of strategically chosen cases. It is shown that, coalitions are more likely when structural conditions favor oppositional victories and when oppositional parties have a distinctive policy agenda in relation to the incumbent government. These factors are shown to be more important than electoral institutions.}},
  author       = {{Wahman, Michael}},
  issn         = {{1873-6890}},
  keywords     = {{Coalition; Authoritarian; Party; Opposition; Policy; Democratization; Election}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{642--657}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Electoral Studies}},
  title        = {{Offices and policies – Why do oppositional parties form pre-electoral coalitions in competitive authoritarian regimes?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2011.05.009}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.electstud.2011.05.009}},
  volume       = {{30}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}