Original scientific paper

Transformation of representative function of political parties

Slaven Ravlić

Abstract

The article analyses causes and consequences of the decreasing importance of the representative function of political parties. The author tries to explain the process from the viewpoint of two modern theories of party transformation: cleavage theory and theory of cartelization. Based on the examples of party development in Western Europe and the emergence of parties and party system in Croatia, the author shows that the representative function of parties has been shaped and transformed in correlation with the development and transformation of parties and party systems. These changes have resulted in a controversial position of parties: due to their increasing separation from society and incorporation into the state, they have ceased to perform their former basic function of representing social interests, which weakened their social legitimacy on the one hand, while they retained the role of the key collective agents on the other. This position is untenable in the long run, because it leads not only to the disappearance of representative functions of parties but also to a party crisis which jeopardizes the whole system of liberal democracy.

Keywords

representative function; cleavage theory; , theory of cartelization; transformation of political parties

Hrčak ID:

18245

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/18245

Publication date:

18.12.2007.

Article data in other languages: croatian german

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