Party competition in an ethnic dual party system
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2145839 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul Mitchell (0000-0001-6893-0704, a Lecturer in Department of Politics , The Queen's University of Belfast , Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1995 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 773-796 |
| Publication date | 1995-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Ethnic and Racial Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0141-9870 • E-ISSN: 1466-4356 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01419870.1995.9993890 |
| OpenAlex | W2044931605 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 36 |
| References cited | 24 |
Combining material from theories of segmented societies and of party competition this article examines Northern Ireland's ethnic party system. The first section focuses on political segmentation and the defensive character of party competition. In segmented societies multi-ethnic parties or alliances are typically unstable and are often replaced by parties projecting an exclusive ethnic appeal. Since ethnic parties appeal solely to one ethnic group elections are more about 'mobilizing the faithful' than competing for uncommitted voters. Indeed, since there are so few uncommitted voters turnout becomes a critical variable. A highly ideological and inflammatory language of appeal is often the easiest way of mobilizing apathetic partisans so that there is no premium on moderation. Electoral competition becomes almost entirely defensive, reinforcing divisions at the mass level and providing relatively secure positions for leaders. The second section considers the implications for conflict regulation of the competitive dynamic which leads to an intra-segmental politics of ethnic outbidding. It is argued that control of the segments and the ability to cooperate inter-segmentally are closely interdependent variables. Different types of competitive strategy in the Northern Ireland party system are then analysed. Finally, the article examines recent changes in the Northern Ireland party system, focusing on alliance strategies and attempts to protect 'moderate' parties from flanking by more extreme rivals. Failure to 'insulate' moderate parties from the centrifugal pulls of their more extreme rivals eventually led to important changes in the policies of the British and Irish governments. Keywords: Party competitionethnic partiesconflict regulationNorthern Irelandsegmentationintra-ethnic competition
Appeal · Competition (biology · Ethnic group · Ideology · Irish · Moderation · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Irish and British Studies · Law · Social Psychology · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies
Five Fallacies
The Northern Ireland Conflict
Introduction
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Statebuilding in Divided Societies
The political consequences of the end of nationalist violence
The environment as a second policy dimension in a deeply divided society
The Progressive Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
When Two of the Same Are Needed
British and Irish Conflict Regulation from Sunningdale to Belfast. Part II
Explaining Support for Non-nationalist Parties in Post-conflict Societies in the Balkans
Administrations of Memory
A critical appraisal of the case for progressive unionism in Northern Ireland today
Party Politics and the EU in Ireland, North and South
Building inter-ethnic bridges or promoting ethno-territorial demarcation lines? Hungarian minority parties in competition
It is not how many votes you get, but also where you get them. Territorial determinants and institutional hurdles for the success of ethnic minority parties in post-communist countries
Interpretations of political violence in ethnically divided societies
Ethnic Outbidding and Party Modernization
Populist parties in European Parliament elections
The 2001 elections in Northern Ireland
Democratic Socialism and Sectarianism
Alternative Ulster? Political Parties and the Non-Constitutional Policy Space in Northern Ireland
Extremist Outbidding in Ethnic Party Systems is Not Inevitable
Accountable to whom? How strong parties subvert local democratic institutions
British and Irish Conflict Regulation from Sunningdale to Belfast Part I
From adversaries to allies
Examining the objectives of ethnic parties
The Evolution of Party Policy and Cleavage Voting under Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland
Ethnic competition and the logic of party system transformation
Regimes and peace processes
Frameworked futures
Beyond the dominant party system
Centres, peripheries, and party systems
The single transferable vote and ethnic conflict
Ethnic Residential Segregation in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1971-1991
Reducing the gap between leaders and voters? Elite polarization, outbidding competition, and the rise of secessionism in Catalonia
Uncivil Wars
Parties and party systems
Policing and Conflict in Northern Ireland
Democracy in Plural Societies
A Democratic South Africa
A Democratic South Africa? Constitutional Engineering in a Divided Society
Social Attitudes in Northern Ireland
Ethnic groups in conflict
Depillarisation and the decline of consociationalism in the Netherlands
The disorderly universe of consociational democracy
The Consociational Model and Its Dangers
The Conditions for Consociational Democracy
Conflict regulation and party competition in Northern Ireland
Typologies of Democratic Systems
Was the civil rights movement a republican/communist conspiracy
Consociational Democracy
Stability in Deeply Divided Societies
The politics of antagonism
| Unique citing works | 36 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,24 |
| Citation span | 1997 - 2025 (29) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 36 |