Journal Articles

Rethinking Factionalism: Typologies, Intra-Party Dynamics and Three Faces of Factionalism

---

It is time to think again about the conceptualization of factionalism in political science. Following a brief review of scholarly contributions in the field, I argue that the analytical approach based on typologies and categories of subparty groups is not very useful in explaining intra-party behaviour and the process of change because, by their nature, these are static tools. Building on previous contributions to the study of factions, notably Sartori, I suggest focusing on intra-party dynamics instead of on organizational forms of faction. Factionalism should be viewed in non-exclusive terms, i.e. as a dynamic process of subgroup partitioning. It is a multifaceted phenomenon that can transform itself over time in response to incentives. Based on conclusions from case study research of factionalized parties in established democracies, I identify three main faces of factionalism: cooperative, competitive and degenerative. I suggest that the process of change may occur in a cycle that contributes to party disintegration, as illustrated by the case of the Christian Democratic Party in Italy (DC), which imploded in the mid-1990s under the centrifugal pulls of its factions.

---

Availability

No copy data

Detail Information

Series Title

Party Politics

Call Number

-

Publisher

United States : Sage Publication., 2009

Collation

-

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

1354-0688

Classification

-

Content Type

-

Media Type

-

Carrier Type

-

Edition

Volume 15, Number 4, July 2009. pp. 455-485

Subject(s)

Factionalism
Intra-party politics
Italy's Christian Democrats (DC)
Japan's Liberal Democrats (LDP)
RETHINKING FACTIONALISM

Specific Detail Info

-

Statement of Responsibility

-

Other version/related

File Attachment

Comments

---

You must be logged in to post a comment