Parties and Party Systems A Framework for Analysis [Paperback]

Sartori &is particularly strong on conceptualisation, is insistent on the need for precision and consistency in the use of terms, and carefully distinguishes parties from factions, movements, and pressure groups&. The pay-off from the framework is seen in the brilliant exposition where the number of parties, moderated by ideology, is related to a wide array of characteristics of political systems& Sartori's book is a major contribution to the studies of comparative politics and political concepts, written with a remarkable feel for the English language.In this rich and broad-ranging volume, Giovanni Sartori outlines what is now recognised to be the most comprehensive and authoritative approach to the classification of party systemsIn this rich and broad-ranging volume, Giovanni Sartori outlines what is now recognised to be the most comprehensive and authoritative approach to the classification of party systems. He also offers an extensive review of the concept and rationale of the political party, and develops a sharp critique of various spatial models of party competition. This is political science at its best  combining the intelligent use of theory with sophisticated analytic arguments, and grounding all of this on a substantial cross-national empirical base. Parties and Party Systems is one of the classics of postwar political science, and is now established as the foremost work in its field.contentsTables and Figures viiAbbreviations ixNew preface by the author xiIntroduction by Peter Mair xiiiPrefacexxiPART ONE: THE RATIONALE: WHY PARTIES?1Chapter one: The party as part31. From faction to party32. Pluralism123. Responsible and responsive government164. A rationalisation21Chapter two: The party as whole351. No-party versus one-party352. The party-state system383. One-party pluralism42Chapter three: The preliminary framework501. Channelment, communication, expression502. The minimal definition523. An overview57Chapter four: The party from within631. Fractions, lÃ-