Slovenia Is Everywhere? How New Party Subsystems and Cycles Extend Worldwide

Abstract

Many of the patterns of party politics we have witnessed in Central Europe are also in evidence in other regions of the world. From Iceland to Israel, from Greece, and Guatemala, and in countries as diverse as Peru and Japan, new parties and politicians have broken through, and some old, seemingly well-established, parties have lost significant levels of support or collapsed altogether. The emergence of new parties in many countries across the globe follow the patterns of their predecessors in Central Europe, with thin organization, celebrity leaders and appeals based on anti-corruption, and newness itself. Many of these new parties have also exhibited short shelf-lives, living fast and dying young, creating space and a voting base for a subsequent wave of new parties.