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Summary
Addresses the altered states of political parties and politics in the post-Cold War era.
With the passage of the Cold War, political parties in nearly every corner of the globe have undergone a vast upheaval. Old ideas have become obsolete, electoral maps have been redrawn, party structures have been rebuilt, and new leaders have emerged. Political Parties and the Collapse of the Old Orders describes these changes using several countries as laboratories: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Israel, South Africa, and Russia. While the nature and extent of the political upheavals vary from place to place, the transformations in each nation's party system have been extraordinary. In this "new world order," the old political arrangements and old ways of doing things have disappeared. The altered states of political parties in the post-Cold War world pose a central question: what does change look like? The answers given here illuminate our understanding of why the world has changed and how political parties are attempting to cope with it.
"There are several dimensions to this work which I especially like. First and foremost, the work is the only body of scholarship which explores on a global scale the place of political parties within the context of the post-Cold War era. It is therefore timely, comprehensive, and unique. The scope of the material is impressive. Second, the work will take students into political systems where relatively little is known regarding partisan and electoral politics. It will be an excellent educational tool. Third, the work is deep, probing, and rich in data. It is not an impressionistic volume, but instead empirically based. For these three reasons, I find much value in this work." -- Gary L. Rose, author of The American Presidency Under Siege
John Kenneth White is Professor of Politics at Catholic University of America. His previous books include Governing New York State, Third Edition (edited with Jeffrey M. Stonecash and Peter W. Colby), also published by SUNY Press, Still Seeing Red: How the Cold War Shapes the New American Politics; Political Parties in the Information Age (co-written with Daniel M. Shea); The Politics of Ideas: Intellectual Challenges to the Parties after 1992; The New Politics of Old Values; and The Fractured Electorate: Political Parties and Social Change in Southern New England. Philip John Davies is Reader in American Studies at De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom.
Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Preface: Political Parties in an Era of Change
John Kenneth White and Philip John Davies
Chapter 1 The American Experience: Public Skepticism, Economic Dislocation, and Partisan Decay
John Kenneth White and Philip John Davies
Chapter 2 The United Kingdom: Change within Continuity
Tim Hames
Chapter 3 French Political Parties: A State within the State
Colette Ysmal
Chapter 4 Whither the Old Order: The Collapse of the GDR and the "New" German Party System
Charlie Jeffery and Charles Lees
Chapter 5 Italy: The Demise of the Post-War Partyocracy
Nick Carter
Chapter 6 Canadian Political Parties: Contemporary Changes
Arthur L. Johnson
Chapter 7 Australia: An Old Order Manages Change
Rodney Smith
Chapter 8 Mexico: The End of One-Party Pluralism?
Michael W. Foley
Chapter 9 Political Parties and the Emergence of Israel's Second Republic
Asher Arian
Chapter 10 South Africa: Rise and Demise of Political Parties
Christopher Thornhill
Chapter 11 Russia: Party Formation and the Legacy of the One-Party State