Dominant Parties and Voters

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

An enduring puzzle in comparative politics is the existence and persistence of dominant parties, both in “illiberal” democracies and in advanced developed democracies with seemingly free and fair elections. Sartori (1976) defines a “predominant” party system as one where the major party “is consistently supported by a winning majority...of the voters.” But while this description of the pattern in electoral outcomes is uncontroversial, understanding and identifying the variety of behavioral and institutional factors behind the pattern has been a persistent challenge, both theoretically and empirically, for political scientists.

How do dominant parties win the support of the majority of voters? Do they win simply by providing voters what they want in terms of policies? Do they capture the support of groups of voters, or the supply of ambitious politicians, through control of government fiscal resources? Or, in line with this year’s theme of “Rights and Responsibilities in an Age of Mis- and Disinformation,” do dominant parties maintain their power through manipulation of the information environment that voters can access when making their decisions? This panel considers the various relationships between dominant parties and voters in comparative perspective, with empirical analyses that include a diverse set of country cases, such as Japan, India, Mexico, and Singapore.

Sub Unit

• Division 11: Comparative Politics

Individual Presentations

• Winning Elections with Unpopular Policies: Valence and Party Dominance in Japan - Shusei Eshima, Harvard University; Yusaku Horiuchi, Dartmouth College; Shiro Kuriwaki, Yale University; Daniel M. Smith, University of Pennsylvania

• A Theory of Group-Based Clientelism - Amy Louise Catalinac, New York University

• In-Group Anger or Out-Group Ambivalence? How Voters Perceive Transfers in India - Shikhar Singh, Duke University

• Reelection Can Increase Legislative Cohesion - Lucia Motolinia, Washington University in St Louis

Chair

• Ali Cirone London School of Economics

Discussants

• Daniel M. Smith University of Pennsylvania

• Ali Cirone London School of Economics