The emergence of Green parties towards the end of the 1970s was a
significant turning point in the development of party systems in Western Europe.
Most of them had been highly stable after World War II until the early 1970s.
Therefore, in several countries, the Greens were the first to disrupt the stable party
systems of the 1950s and 60s. But why Green parties? And why in the 1970s? And
why were and are the Greens in some European countries more successful than in
others? And why in a few did they almost completely fail?
The aim of this essay is to find answers to the questions mentioned, exploring
whether value change, party strategy or institutions are the best explanation for the
development of Green parties across Europe. Therefore the essay is divided into
two main parts. The first rather small one elaborates in which countries in Western
Europe Green parties have played a more or less significant role in the past thirty
years and in which countries they haven’t. This is rather a descriptive approach
answering the question of what is to be analysed in the second part. In this second
more analytical part of the paper, the different approaches to explain the
emergence of Green parties - value change, party stretegy or institutions - are
explored searching for the most convincing one.
[...]
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- I. Introduction
- II. The Electoral Results of Green Parties in Western Europe - An Overview
- III. Explaining the Success or Failure of Green Parties in Western Europe
- III.1. Value Change as an Explaining Factor
- III.2. The Role of Party Organisation and Party Strategy
- III.3. The Institutional Design as an Explaining Factor
- IV. Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This essay aims to analyze the emergence and success (or failure) of Green parties in Western Europe, focusing on three key explanatory factors: value change, party strategy, and institutional design. The essay explores these factors to determine the most convincing explanation for the development of Green parties across Europe.
- The emergence of Green parties in Western Europe
- The role of value change in shaping the success of Green parties
- The influence of party organization and strategy on electoral outcomes
- The impact of institutional design on the development of Green parties
- A comparative analysis of Green party performance across European countries
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The essay begins by providing an overview of the electoral results of Green parties in Western Europe, showcasing their presence in national parliaments and their participation in coalition governments. Chapter II examines the electoral performance of Green parties in fifteen European countries, presenting a table detailing their vote share in national elections from 1978 to 2004.
Chapter III delves into the factors explaining the success or failure of Green parties, analyzing value change, party strategy, and institutional design as potential explanations. This section aims to determine the most convincing factor in driving the development of Green parties across Europe.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The primary keywords and focus topics of this essay are Green parties, value change, party strategy, institutional design, electoral success, and comparative politics. The essay examines the interplay of these factors in shaping the development and performance of Green parties across Western Europe.
- Quote paper
- Sandra Graf (Author), 2005, What is the most convincing explanation for the success (or failure) of green parties in Europe - Value change, party strategy or institutions, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/54368
