The Institutionalization of Electoral and Party Systems in Postcommunist States

Abstract

The development of electoral systems and political parties is essential for democracies to function well. Therefore, the institutionalization of viable parties within wellestablished electoral rules is critical to the consolidation of democracy in the former Communist world. While the need for such institutionalization is widely recognized, there is disagreement on the capacity of the postcommunist countries to entrench electoral systems and parties. This article addresses institutionalization through the analysis of electoral and party systems in East Europe and the former Soviet Union and provides comparison to earlier transitions in western Europe, southern Europe, and Latin America. It evaluates stability and change by placing the development of party systems in the theoretical debate about the maturity of the postcommunist democratic process, examining the regulations that govern elections and party behavior, appraising voter-party alignment in terms of electoral volatility, and assessing party fractionalization in terms of the number of effective parties competing in the new democracies.