Het effect van zetelverdeling op het succes van oppositiepartijen: een crossnationale vergelijking

Abstract

Scholars within the extensive body of literature on cabinet durability have, until this day, put their focus on the characteristics of parties within the cabinet. In doing so, scholars largely overlooked external powers like opposition parties, which actively try to undermine the cabinet its durability. Previous studies have illustrated that characteristics like fractionalization and ideological differences within the cabinet are negatively related to cabinet durability. This study examines if the effects of fractionalization and ideological concentration of the opposition influence cabinet durability in the same manner. Using the ‘Party Government in 48 Democracies - dataset’ and the ‘Parliaments and governments database’ in a survival analysis, I find no empirical evidence of the fact that fractionalization of the opposition positively influences cabinet durability. In addition to that, this analysis finds no empirical support for the negative effect of ideological concentration of the opposition on cabinet durability. Alternative explanations and implications for further research are offered at the end of this study.