10. Workshop on Parties and Party Systems in Central Europe (22. 11.)

Lecturer: Pavel Pšeja


Objective: To explain impact of parties on political developments in CE countries since 1989.


Workshop: Political parties have generally played decisive roles in transforming the totalitarian
constitutional arrangements into democratic ones. Therefore, in this session we are to pay specific
and detailed attention to the developments of party systems of Central European, as well as to
emergence of major cleavages and importance of some individual parties and party groupings.
Theoretical and practical ramifications of these developments will be discussed accordingly.


Assigned reading:

Ágh, Attila (1998), pp. 101-131.


Additional reading:

Ágh, Attila (1998): The Politics of Central Europe, Sage, London.

Bakke, Elisabeth, Sitter, Nick (2005): „Patterns of Stability: Party Competition and Strategy in
Central Europe since 1989”, Party Politics, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 243-263.


Issues for discussion:

Major developments in Hungarian/Polish/Slovak party system.

Similarities and differences in CE party systems.