Past the saturation point:Why voters switch from mainstream to niche parties and vice-versa

When do voters switch from mainstream to niche parties and vice-versa? To understand these switches, we focus on the saturation of the party system. We theorize that when a party system is oversaturated – i.e. when a higher effective number of parties contests elections than predicted based on socio-political contextual characteristics (the system's ‘carrying capacity’) – it becomes increasingly likely that: (1) mainstream party voters defect to niche parties; and (2) niche party voters refrain from switching to mainstream parties. Based on vote-switching patterns in 15 countries and 53 elections, we find that oversaturation increases shifts from mainstream to niche parties. Further analyses show that this holds for shifts from mainstream to radical left and right parties, but not for shifts to green parties. This has important consequences for research on vote switching, the electoral consequences of policy differentiation and the competition between niche and mainstream parties.</p

Editorial: Party Entry and Exit in Times of Crisis

The mobilization and representation of societal demands and grievances is a central function of political parties and party systems in democratic regimes (Lipset and Rokkan, 1967). Sudden crises can disrupt it and act as a catalyst for party system change, leading to the entry of new parties in elections and parliaments (e.g., Hobolt and Tilley, 2016; Vidal, 2018; Casal Bértoa and Weber, 2019). This special issue is interested in the link between democracies' crisis exposure and patterns of party entry and survival as well as the latter's short- and long-term consequences for democracy. We are interested in two main questions: How have newcomers (successfully) exploited major crises? Did new entries stay around and introduce significant change in party systems or did they vanish after a short period of turmoil leaving traditional patterns of inter-party competition intact

Representing their own? Ethnic minority women in the Dutch parliament

Ethnic minority women tend to be better represented in parliaments than ethnic minority men. What does this mean for their substantive representation? This article makes use of intersectional analysis to study how the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation differs within and between gender and ethnic groups. Drawing on written parliamentary questions and the committee memberships of MPs in seven parliamentary sessions (1995-2012) in the Netherlands, a strong link is found between descriptive and substantive representation. Female ethnic minority MPs more often sit on committees and table questions that address ethnic minority women's interests than male ethnic minority and female ethnic majority MPs. The link, however, is fragile as it is based on a small number of active MPs. This demonstrates the importance of an intersectional approach to understanding how representation works in increasingly diverse parliaments, which cannot be captured by focusing on gender or ethnicity alone

Systematic clinical approach for diagnosing upper limb tremor

Tremor is the most common movement disorder worldwide, but diagnosis is challenging. In 2018, the task force on tremor of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society published a consensus statement that proposes a tremor classification along two independent axes: a clinical tremor syndrome and its underlying aetiology. In line with this statement, we here propose a stepwise diagnostic approach that leads to the correct clinical and aetiological classification of upper limb tremor. We also describe the typical clinical signs of each clinical tremor syndrome. A key feature of our algorithm is the distinction between isolated and combined tremor syndromes, in which tremor is accompanied by bradykinesia, cerebellar signs, dystonia, peripheral neuropathy or brainstem signs. This distinction subsequently informs the selection of appropriate diagnostic tests, such as neurophysiology, laboratory testing, structural and dopaminergic imaging and genetic testing. We highlight treatable metabolic causes of tremor, as well as drugs and toxins that can provoke tremor. The stepwise approach facilitates appropriate diagnostic testing and avoids unnecessary investigations. We expect that the approach offered in this article will reduce diagnostic uncertainty and increase the diagnostic yield in patients with tremor

The good, the bad, and the ugly: Patterns of issue competition between government, challenger and mainstream opposition parties in Western Europe

This dissertation can be placed in the growing literature on issue competition. According to this perspective, originally developed against the backdrop of US two-party competition, utility maximising politicians play the most influential role in determining the relative competition among political issues. Specifically, the governing party is expected to keep focusing on the issues that brought it into power, while the opposition attempts to mobilise issues that do not reinforce existing patterns of party competition and most likely divide the governing party. To what extent can these insights be applied to more complex Western European multiparty systems? This study focuses on four strategies that capture the essence of issue competition, namely whether parties will: emphasise issues over which their potential electorate is divided, engage in dialogue on issues threatening existing patterns of party competition, mobilise wedge issues dividing (a coalition of) governing parties, and emphasise different aspects of issues than competitors. By employing a behavioural classification distinguishing between challenger parties, mainstream opposition parties, and government parties, this study demonstrates that previous experience in office forms a crucial factor in explaining whether parties will engage in the strategies at hand

Desperate needs, desperate deeds: Why mainstream parties respond to the issues of niche parties

This study explores agenda-setting dynamics between mainstream and niche parties on two issues owned by niche parties: immigration and European integration. It proposes an analytical distinction between opposition and government parties to understand which mainstream parties will engage in dialogue on these issues. Building on prospect theory, mainstream opposition parties (MOPs) are expected to be risk-acceptant and inclined to follow the agenda of niche competitors. Conversely, mainstream government parties (MGPs) are risk-averse, will systematically ignore shifts in the agenda of niche parties and only increase their attention in response to MOPs. Time-series analyses between 1974 and 2003 on the case of Denmark confirm the hypotheses