Partisanship and Party System Change in Central American Democracies, 2006-2020

• In Event: Shifts in Party Systems (Virtual Session)

Abstract

As Central American countries experience democratic backsliding, economic stagnation, and social upheaval, the formerly stable party competition that arose in the wake of democratization in the late 1990s has been replaced by the emergence of a more fluid party system. Party systems in Central American countries have experienced substantial shifts, but party system institutionalization, democratic institutions, and democratic values have evolved in different directions. Electoral realignments have been prevalent in Costa Rica and Panama. In Nicaragua, Honduras, and Panama, the party system has abruptly changed. In Guatemala, the party system remains in a state of dealignment. What do public opinion trends tell us about party system change? How has partisanship and ideological identification evolved in Central American fragile democracies? This study uses a decade of AmericasBarometer's from 2008 to 2018 to examine the ideological and socio-demographic niches of partisan support in the region.

Authors

• Patricio D. Navia, Universidad Diego Portales

• Lucas Matias Perello, Skidmore College