Journal Articles

Kirchheimer’s French Twist: A Model of the Catch-All Thesis Applied to the French Case

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Despite the fact that the catch-all thesis has profoundly affected scholarship on political parties, operationalizing the thesis and applying it to evaluate empirical cases has proved challenging for scholars. The thesis has been criticized for lacking a theoretical framework of analysis and clear causal logic. Therefore, while it is often cited it is rarely tested. In this article I develop a model of the catch-all thesis and then test it in the case of France, one of the original cases specified by Otto Kirchheimer in his observations. The French case exhibits competing tendencies of party convergence and polarization with the persistence of ideology. Findings suggest some confirmation of the catch-all thesis prediction regarding bipolarization, yet not according to the rationale asserted in the thesis. Additionally, presidentialism effects prove an important explanatory factor and the 2007 elections suggest a possible catch-all party in the UMP.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Party Politics

Call Number

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Publisher

Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publication., 2009

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

13540688

Classification

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Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Vol. 15, No. 5, September 2009.pp. 592-614

Subject(s)

Party Systems
France
catch-all parties
Presidential
Testing a specific theory
KIRCHHEIMERS FRENCH TWIST

Specific Detail Info

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