Kirchheimer’s French Twist

A Model of the Catch-All Thesis Applied to the French Case

Bibliographic Data

ID6316637
AuthorsMichelle Hale Williams (University of West Florida, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume15
Issue5
Pages592-614
Publication date2009-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueParty Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1354-0688 • E-ISSN: 1460-3683
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1354068809336398
OpenAlexW2172068129
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited37

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

Economics · Epistemology · Ideology · Operationalization · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Presidential system · Scholarship · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Philosophy · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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