Political Parties and the Collapse of the Old Orders

Edited by John Kenneth White & Philip John Davies

Subjects: International Relations
Series: SUNY series in Political Party Development
Paperback : 9780791440681, 251 pages, January 1999
Hardcover : 9780791440674, 251 pages, January 1999

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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

Edwin Bacon

Chapter 12 Parties and the Millennium

Susan J. Tolchin

About the Authors

Index

Addresses the altered states of political parties and politics in the post-Cold War era.

Description

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.

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.

Reviews

"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