The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties: Routledge International Handbooks

Introduction to the handbook  Part 1: Definitions and party evolution  1. Party change beyond the ‘classical models?’ The role of agency, context, and democracy  2. Parties and partisanship in political theory  3. Party systems and party system change  Part 2: Party as an organization  4. Party organization  5. Party membership  6. Party finance  7. Party institutionalisation  8. Political parties and social movements  9. Political parties and gender  Part 3: Party ideology and party families  10. Cleavage politics in the twenty-first century  11.The far right  12. The centre-right: Christian Democrats, Conservatives and Liberals  13. Liberal Parties  14. Social Democracy  15. Radical left parties  16. Green parties  Part 4: Party competition and representation  17. Party strategies: valence versus position  18. Issue competition and agenda setting  19. Niche parties and party competition  20. Parties in government and in coalitions  21. Parties and representation  22. Personalisation and political parties  Part 5: Contemporary issues and challenges  23. Populism and parties  24. Parties and climate change  25. Parties and immigration  26. Parties and European integration  27. Parties, issues and gender  28. Post-conflict political parties  29. Clientelism and political parties  Part 6: Regional comparisons  30. Political parties in Russia and post-Soviet states  31. Political parties in East Asia  32. Political parties in Southeast Asia  33. Political parties in Latin America  34. Political parties in Sub-Saharan Africa  35. Political parties in North Africa  36. Political parties in the Arab Middle East  37. Political parties in India  Part 7: Methods for estimating party preferences  38. Text analysis of party manifestos  39. Voting Advice Applications  40. Expert surveys in party research

‘Anyone looking to get up to speed on the state of the art in research on political parties needs to read this book. Written by a stellar cast of experts, it tells you where we are now and where things are heading. A truly invaluable collection.’
Tim Bale, Queen Mary University of London, UK
‘The editors have expertly curated a compelling collection of chapters which address classic research questions in the study of party politics, alongside contributions that reflect new research foci, international analysis via regional studies, and research design and methods. All of the chapters present a state of the art, reconsider key conceptual debates, explore empirical approaches, and outline future research agendas. Such an approach offers the reader clear links to “seminal” and pioneering literature complemented by more critical studies, provides for a comparative approach, and highlights debates amongst party scholars with regard to methodological and empirical stances. The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties tells those interested in party politics what they need to critically study in party types, families, systems, and party change; it reviews party responses to critical contemporary issues such as gender inequality, European integration, the environment, and immigration; and is attuned to the study of political parties beyond established, western democracies. Accessible and yet comprehensive, the Routledge Handbook of Political Parties is a fine resource for students, the interested public, and scholars alike.’
Sarah Childs, University of Edinburgh, UK
‘This book is a must read for any serious scholar of political parties. It will be a very welcome addition to the libraries of scholars who study political parties. It includes many of the top scholars in the field. and has a very coherent organization , including definitional chapters, party as organization, party ideology and party systems as well as exemplary types of parties. I will certainly be relying heavily on the contributions in this book in my own work and will be using it in my classes at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.’
John Ishiyama, University Distinguished Research Professor and Chair, University of North Texas, USA

Neil Carter is Professor of Politics at the University of York, UK.
Daniel Keith is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of York, UK.
Gyda M. Sindre is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of York, UK.
Sofia Vasilopoulou is Professor of European Politics at King’s College London and Honorary Professor at the University of York, UK