Center-Right Political Parties in Advanced Democracies

Posted: 28 May 2019

See all articles by Noam Gidron

Noam Gidron

Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Political Science Department

Daniel Ziblatt

Harvard University - Department of Government

Date Written: May 2019

Abstract

This review proposes a comparative research agenda on center-right parties in advanced democracies, bringing together research in American and comparative politics. Political scientists have recently closely examined the decline of the center-left and the rise of the radical right but have paid less attention to the weakening of center-right parties. Yet cohesive center-right parties have facilitated political stability and compromises, while their disintegration has empowered radical challengers. After presenting an overview of right-wing politics in Western democracies and weighing different definitions of the electoral right, we discuss two factors that shape variations in center-right cohesion: organizational robustness of center-right partisan institutions and the (un)bundling of conservative mass attitudes on different policy dimensions. Last, we argue that a full account of the rise of the radical right cannot focus solely on the strategies of the center-left but must incorporate also the choices, opportunities, and constraints of center-right parties.

Suggested Citation

Gidron, Noam and Ziblatt, Daniel, Center-Right Political Parties in Advanced Democracies (May 2019). Annual Review of Political Science, Vol. 22, pp. 17-35, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3394081 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-090717-092750

Noam Gidron (Contact Author)

Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Political Science Department ( email )

Mount Scopus
Jerusalem
Israel

Daniel Ziblatt

Harvard University - Department of Government ( email )

1737 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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