ELECTORAL VOLATILITY IN GEORGIA: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE STABILITY OF PARTY SYSTEM
Abstract
Stable party system is the basic of consolidated democracy. Despite the fact that many researchers are interested in studying of system stability and institutionalism, the empirical studies about the mentioned issue are rather scarce. Electoral volatility is used as one of the measurements of the party system. Pedersen Index is one of the famous instruments in researches of electoral volatility. The mentions instrument is used into two directions: for measure party stability and the volatile electorate. The length of democratic transaction and party system fragmentation determines the electoral volatility. In accordance with the electoral volatility the post-soviet and former socialist countries are significantly ahead of the other regions. A little experience of multiparty political system and weak party identification is named as the cause of the mentioned. In this article my purpose was to study regional contest of electoral volatility in post-soviet and post-socialist countries, to analyze the condition in Georgia in this regard and to make conclusions only follow the contextual analysis. In the study I used qualitative methods, monographic study (Case Study) and I divided Georgian party system as the case. The study showed that in Georgia as well as in the many countries of the region the share of parties’ instability in the overall volatility rate is much higher than the share of volatility caused by the volatile electorate. There are the weak state institutions in Georgia for decades, semi-authoritarian regime and difficult social-economical conditions prevents the formation of a stable party systemReferences
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2. Politics and the Challenge for Democracy Assistance in Georgia. In: Caucasian Review of International Affairs 2(2). Retrived 18 January, 2015 http://www.cria-online.org/3_3.html
3. Bader, M. (2009), Understanding Party Politics in the Former Soviet Union: Autoritarianism, Volatility and Incentive Structures; Demokratizatsiya, Vol. 17, No. 2. Retrived 22 January, 2015 http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/41340106/understanding-party- politics-former- soviet-union
4. Bader, M. (2010). Against All odds; Aiding Political Parties in Georgia and Ukraine. Amsterdam University Press.
5. Bartolini, St. and Mair, P. (1990). Identity, Competeition and Electoral Availability: The Stabilization of European Electorates, 1885-1985. ECPR Press, pp. 130-45;
6. Berglund, St. (2013). The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe. Edward Elgar Pub.
7. Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI), 2014. Retrived 15 February, 2015, http://www.bti-project.org/uploads/tx_itao_download/BTI_2014_Georgia.pdf
8. Bielsiak, J. (2005). Party competition in emerging democracies: representation and effectiveness in post-communism and beyond, in: Democratization 12:3, Retrived 20 February, 2015, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13510340500126764#.VdJGgSbJJuM
9. Budge I., (2013), The Politics of New Europe Atlantic to Urals. Addison Welsey Publishing Company.
10. Caramani, D. &Biezen, I.V. (2007). Cleavage structuring in Wester vs Central and Eastern Europe: State formation, nation-building and economic modernization. Paper presented at the ECPR Joint 7-12 May.
11. Converse, Ph. E. (1969). Of Time and Partisan Stability, In: Comparative Political Studies 2 Retrived 20 January, 2015 http://cps.sagepub.com/content/2/2/139.full.pdf+html
12. Dalton, R., Wattenberg, M. (2000). Parties without Partisans: Political Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies. New York: Oxford University press
13. Dawisha, K. and Deets, St. (2006). ,,Intended and Unintended Consequences of Elections in Russia and Postcommunist States.” Paper Prepared for delivery at the Conference of Harvard University, Russian Research Center. April 25, 2002.
14. Gallagher, M. (2014). Election Indices. Trinity College Dublin. Retrived 22 October, 2014 http://www.tcd.ie/Political_Science/staff/michael_gallagher/ElSystems/Docts/ElectionIndices.pdf
15. Gherghina, S. (2014). Party Organization and Electoral Volatility in Central and Eastern Europe: Enhancing Voter Loyality, Routledge.
16. Jones, B. R., (2012). Electoral Volatility in Old and New Democracies: Comparing Causes of Party System Institutionalisation .Central European University Departament of Political Science
17. Jurkynas, M. (2004). Emerging cleavages in new democracies: The case of Lithuania, In: Journal of Baltic Studies, 35 (3).
18. Kolev, K. and College, H. (2012). Bulgaria: Electoral Volatility, polarization and Financial Deficits Lead to Reduction in Clientelism. International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
19. Laakso, M. and Taagepera, R. (1979). Effective Number of Parties: A Measure with Application to West Europe. In: Comparative Political Studies 12 (1). Retrived 20 November, 2014http://www.researchgate.net/publication/241645380_The_Effective_Number_of_Parties_A_Measure_with_Application_to_West_Europe
20. Mackie, T. and Richard, R. (1991). The International Almanac of Electoral History. London: MacMillan.
21. Mainwaring, Sc., Torcal, M. (2005). Party Sustem institutionalization and party system Theory after the third wave of democratization. In: Handbook of Party Politics, ed. Katz, R. and Crotty, W. London: Sage, pp. 204-27.
22. Mainwaring, S., Zoco, E. (2007). Political Sequences and the Stabiliztion of Interparty Competition:Electoral Volatility in Old and New Democracies. In: Party Politics 13(2). Retrived 9 November, 2015 http://ppq.sagepub.com/content/13/2/155
23. Moser, R. (1999). Electoral Systems and the Number of Parties in Post-Communist States, In: World Politics 51, pp. 359-84; Retrived 19 November, 2015 http://www.researchgate.net/publication/236708343_Electoral_Systems_and_the_Number_of_Parties_in_Postcommunist_States
24. Moser, G. R. (2001). Unexpected Outcomes: Electoral Systems, Political Parties, and Representation in Russia. Pittsburg: University of Pittsburg Press.
25. Nations in Transit – Georgia, 2008; Nations in Transit - Georgia, 2012. Retrived 7 March, 2015 https://freedomhouse.org/report/nationstransit/2013/georgia#.VdMWiRSqpBc
26. Nef Powel, E., Tucker, A. J. (2009). New Approaches to Electoral Volatility: Evidence from Postcommunist Countries. Yale University & New York University.
27. Nodia, G., Scoltbach, A. P. Coordinators – Editors; (2006). The Political Landscape of Georgia; Political Parties: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects.EburonUitgeverij B.V
28. Roberts, K. M. and Wibbels, E. (1999). ,,Party Systems and Electoral Volatility in Latin America: A Test of Economic, Institutional, and Structural Explanations,” In: American Political Science Review 93. pp. 575-90. Retrived 5 January, 2015 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2585575
29. Ramonaite, A. (2006). The development of the Lithuanian party system: from stability to perturbation, In: Jungerstam-Mulders, S. (ed.). Post-communist EU member states: parties and party systems (pp. 69- 90). Aldershot; Burlington, VT: Ashgate).
30. Rybiy, O. (2013). Party System Institutionalization in Ukraine, In: Demokratizatiyon, The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization (Vol. 21) No.3.
31. Tavits, M. (2005). The Development of Stable Party Support: Electoral Dynamics in Post- Communist Europe, In: American Journal of Political Science 49. Retrived 17 March, 2015http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0092-5853.2005.00123.x/abstract
32. Wilson, A., (2005). Virtual Politics Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World.Yale University press.
Published
2018-01-12
How to Cite
MELIKIDZE, Giorgi.
ELECTORAL VOLATILITY IN GEORGIA: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE STABILITY OF PARTY SYSTEM.
Eastern Europe Regional Studies, [S.l.], jan. 2018.
ISSN 2587-456X.
Available at: <https://test.psage.tsu.ge/index.php/Easternstudies/article/view/54>. Date accessed: 21 sep. 2024.
Issue
Section
Articles
Keywords
Electoral Volatility; party System; Post-Soviet Countries; Georgia;
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