Comparative Politics

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Abstract review

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A type of judicial review where a constitutional court can assess the constitutionality of a law before it takes effect, usually at the request of a small set of political actors granted the right to ask for a review by the constitution.

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Accommodative strategy of mainstream parties

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Involves mainstream parties adopting a similar strategy to challenger parties in hopes of drawing voters away from a threatening competitor.

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Adversarial strategy of mainstream parties

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Involves mainstream parties competing with challenger parties by adopting an opposing position on an issue that has been mobilized by a challenger party.

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Anticipatory representation

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The notion that elected representatives base their policy platforms and behaviour on what they think their constituents will approve of at the next election, not on what they promised to do at the last election.

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Bipolar party system

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A multiparty system where parties are divided into two ideological blocs that form relatively stable coalitions.

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Cabinet

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At the national level, a cabinet consists of the prime minister and ministers. In the European Commission, it is called the College of Commissioners.

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Cabinet portfolios

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Policy jurisdictions that are under the responsibility of cabinet ministers.

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Cadre party

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An elite-driven party type that developed in European parliaments, with a minimal extra-parliamentary organization. Also known as elite or caucus party.

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Cartel party

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A type of political party that, according to Katz and Mair (1995), uses the resources of the state to maintain its position within the political system.

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Catch-all party

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A type of political party that seeks to attract voters from different points of view and ideologies. It has a large and heterogeneous

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Centrifugal party systems

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According to Sartori (1976), these are systems where the political parties tend to move away from the centre.

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Centripetal party systems

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According to Sartori (1976), these are systems where the political parties tend to move towards the centre.

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Challenger party

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A party that does not have government experience (De Vries and Hobolt, 2020).

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Christian Democratic party family

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A party family that is rooted in the church–state cleavage. Parties locate themselves on the centre-right on the left–right dimension while adopting more traditionalist value policies.

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Cleavage theory

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A theory by Lipset and Rokkan (1967) about the origins of European party systems as based in historical developments, such as the national revolutions, the Reformation, and the Industrial Revolution, that produced enduring lines of conflict that continue to shape political structure, political organization, and the content of political conflict.

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Closed-list PR

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A proportional representation (PR) electoral system that allocates seats to political parties in proportion to the vote shares received. Parties nominate candidates on party lists and seats for each party are filled in a top-down sequence on the list. Voters can only cast a vote for a party list and cannot change the order in which candidates appear on the list.

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Coming-together federalism

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A type of federalism whereby previously independent political entities come together in a bigger territorial unit in order to benefit from pooling authority to improve their economic and security situation.