Proportional Western Europe

the long version

"This book manuscript can be seen as two different books. The first is a history of political parties in ten nations (with the sections on France and Germany limited to specific periods). The second is a critique of the existing literature that emphasizes the importance of electoral rules as determinative of political party systems. In contrast, the authors argue that votes are determined more by community ties (specifically labor unions and some religious organizations), and these ties can explain many of the patterns that we see in party politics in specific countries. In addition, the authors add an explanation of the rise of new parties that hinges largely on whether or not alternatives exist that have not been tainted by having been part of the government"--