Niche parties and party competition
- Author(s)
- Markus Wagner
- Abstract
Niche parties are commonly defined as parties that emphasise a small range of issues that their competitors largely ignore. Such parties have become increasingly relevant in many party systems over the past decades; common examples are Green, radical-right and Regionalist parties. This chapter begins by discussing the various ways in which niche parties have been defined and measured. It then examines the main strategic aims of niche parties: politicisation and contagion. Mainstream parties react to niche party success in various ways, pursuing accommodative, adversarial and dismissive strategies. Yet the effectiveness of these strategies remains debated.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Government
- No. of pages
- 11
- Publication date
- 2023
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 506014 Comparative politics
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/636bcdbc-d40e-4716-a13b-566e0a3180cf