Both the Bavarian and Austrian societies have been undergoing a broad process of change since 1945: they have experienced a long period of economical growth, a rise of standards in terms of social welfare and education, and thus a value change and a switch to at least partly postmaterial society. Accompanying this change, however, there has also been more public disapproval towards the official policies, the number of people going to the polls has sunk and so has the number of people who are likely to become involved in party politics. Particularly the big, dominant catch-all parties, such as CSU (Christian Social Union of Bavaria) and ÖVP (Austrian People's Party), have been losing their voters and members. As the thesis shows, the developments in both societies are quite similar, as the political culture of Bavaria and Austria - in spite of certain differences - shares many common characteristics. Also, both CSU and ÖVP did partly manage to adapt to the new circumstances, particularly in terms of party funding. Anyway, they did not fully follow the pattern of cartelisation to pursue this adaptation. This reveals the link between postmaterialist change and the development to cartel party to be only partly valid; however, both theories have proved to be helpful in understanding processes taking...

<p>University of Växjö</p><p>School of Social Sciences</p><p>Bachelor Thesis in Political Science</p><p>Title: “Sverigedemokraternas valframgångar 2006 – En ulv i fårakläder?”</p><p>Author: Emma Haraldsson and Åsa Neuschütz</p><p>Tutor: Emil Uddhammar</p><p>The aim of this study is to explain Sverigedemokraterna’s electoral success in 2006 and the essay assumes that some form of change has occurred. To study this change two hypotheses have been constructed. The first hypothesis concerns the change within Sverigedemokraterna and the second hypothesis concerns the change of the Swedish voters attitudes.</p><p>Kirchheimers catch-all theory is used to explain the change in Sverigedemokraterna. The catch-all theory states that parties have to change their structure to maximise the number of votes. Lipset and Rokkan’s theory about the party system is also used along with Inglehart’s value studies to explain why parties change.</p><p>The tests of the hypotheses are carried out through a text analysis and a statistical survey. The essay concludes that Sverigedemokraterna has not changed very much and that it is mainly an esthetical and not an ideological change. Therefore the first hypothesis has to be falsified. The second hypothesis can be neither falsified nor verified, because the material is too diverse. Further studies are necessary to explain the electoral success of Sverigedemokraterna.</p>

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This thesis asks how the Mohajir Quami Mahaz (MQM), transformed itself from an ethnic to a catch-all party. Existing literature heavily emphasizes the MQM’s militancy, while this thesis explores the journey of the party, formed in 1984 to represent Urdu-speakers in Pakistan, through each phase of its development down to its transformation into the Muttahida Qaumi Mahaz (United National Movement) in 1997. The MQM’s process of transformation can be explained theoretically through Kirchheimer’s catch-all party theory. My findings note a shift from an ethno-militant agenda of Mohajir interests to one stressing the need for “national unity” and modernization. It is argued that the party shifted from making choices based on ideology to a strategy-based politics. The MQM, therefore, sought voters outside its traditional constituent base in an effort to gain national appeal. As an urban-based middle-class party, it provides an ideal example of how a party adopts to a changing social environment fractured by military administration, modernity, and political Islam. Therefore, this thesis is the story of the MQM’s journey from mohallah to mainstream.

This thesis asks how the Mohajir Quami Mahaz (MQM), transformed itself from an ethnic to a catch-all party. Existing literature heavily emphasizes the MQM’s militancy, while this thesis explores the journey of the party, formed in 1984 to represent Urdu-speakers in Pakistan, through each phase of its development down to its transformation into the Muttahida Qaumi Mahaz (United National Movement) in 1997. The MQM’s process of transformation can be explained theoretically through Kirchheimer’s catch-all party theory. My findings note a shift from an ethno-militant agenda of Mohajir interests to one stressing the need for “national unity” and modernization. It is argued that the party shifted from making choices based on ideology to a strategy-based politics. The MQM, therefore, sought voters outside its traditional constituent base in an effort to gain national appeal. As an urban-based middle-class party, it provides an ideal example of how a party adopts to a changing social environment fractured by military administration, modernity, and political Islam. Therefore, this thesis is the story of the MQM’s journey from mohallah to mainstream.

Partido Popular Cristiano (PPC) es un partido peruano de derecha fundado en 1966. Sin embargo, nunca ha ganado ninguno de los cargos más importantes del país pese a que, espe- cialmente en la última década, se lo propuso con gran determinación. La literatura sobre la poca competitividad electoral de los partidos políticos peruanos ha señalado que ello se debería a factores históricos, estructurales, institucionales u organizacionales, difícilmente superables. En esa línea, los pocos autores que han arriesgado hipótesis sobre el PPC han resaltado una supuesta ideologización y poca apertura a sectores populares como los factores que lo han hecho poco competitivo. En cambio, en este trabajo se argumenta que en la última década la poca competitividad del PPC ha sido profundizada por la adopción por parte de sus élites partidarias de una estrategia atrapa-todo, la cual implicó que no se posicionara en el debate político programático existente en el Perú de forma clara y permanente y, por tanto, perdiera identidad política, crucial en un contexto con altos niveles de volatilidad, dificultades para la agregación de intereses y en el que no siempre se necesitan de grandes mayorías para ganar elecciones. La falta de una identidad política enraizada en una parte de la ciudadanía le impidió conservar un voto duro y una logística organizacional, factores que en el Perú brindan una mayor capacidad competitiva.

University of Växjö School of Social Sciences Bachelor Thesis in Political Science Title: “Sverigedemokraternas valframgångar 2006 – En ulv i fårakläder?” Author: Emma Haraldsson and Åsa Neuschütz Tutor: Emil Uddhammar The aim of this study is to explain Sverigedemokraterna’s electoral success in 2006 and the essay assumes that some form of change has occurred. To study this change two hypotheses have been constructed. The first hypothesis concerns the change within Sverigedemokraterna and the second hypothesis concerns the change of the Swedish voters attitudes. Kirchheimers catch-all theory is used to explain the change in Sverigedemokraterna. The catch-all theory states that parties have to change their structure to maximise the number of votes. Lipset and Rokkan’s theory about the party system is also used along with Inglehart’s value studies to explain why parties change. The tests of the hypotheses are carried out through a text analysis and a statistical survey. The essay concludes that Sverigedemokraterna has not changed very much and that it is mainly an esthetical and not an ideological change. Therefore the first hypothesis has to be falsified. The second hypothesis can be neither falsified nor verified, because the material is too diverse. Further studies are necessary to explain the electoral success of Sverigedemokraterna.

This thesis concerns the Czechoslovak Social Democracy in the 1930's and 1940's. Its aim is to investigate whether the Social Democratic Party in the Third Republic moved from a mass party towards being a catch-all party. It investigates whether the move was in line with Otto Kirchheimer's theory. The thesis is divided into four parts. The first part is theoretically orientated. It analyzes how and why there was a move from a mass party towards a catch-all party. It also contains in which areas the change occured and how it occured. The second part focuses on whether the Social Democratic Party in the First Republic can be considered in the typology of political parties as a mass party. There is a conclusion that we can call it a mass party. The third part analyzes if the Social Democratic Party in the Third Republic moved from being a mass party to a catch-all party. The conclusion is that this happened. The final part is dedicated to whether the Social Democratic Party in the Third Republic moved closer to being a catch-all party in line with Otto Kirchheimer's theory. This part concludes that it was in line with this theory.