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This article investigates the challenges that political parties face in referendums. While political parties are still key actors in a referendum campaign, a number of factors weaken their position. Ambiguous cueing, internal dissidence, electoral volatility and limited impact on citizens' prime information sources reduce the influence of political parties. Large, centrist political parties have the worst performance record in terms of getting their voters to follow the recommendation of the party, while smaller, ideologically strongly profiled parties are more successful in aligning their voters with party policy. At the individual level, we find that, in particular, efficacious voters are likely to disregard the recommendation of their preferred party, while politically disinterested voters are more likely to follow the party endorsement. The article concludes with a discussion of the contingent nature of party control over referendums.

Introduction / Katarina Sehm Patomaki and Marko Ulvila -- Political parties and global democracy / Jan Aart Scholte -- Party systems in a globalized world / Thomas Wallgren -- The world social forum-a global party in the making? / Christopher Chase-Dunn and Ellen Reese -- Researching global parties / Heikki Patomaki and Teivo Teivainen -- The globalization of party politics / Stephen Gill -- Towards the fifth international? / Samir Amin -- The global political / Vijay Pratap -- Conclusion : beyond the political party/civil society dichotomy / Heikki Patomaki and Teivo Teivainen

LIKE MOST POST-COMMUNIST STATES, UKRAINE APPEARS TO HAVE AN ANARCHIC AND INEFFECTIVE PARTY SYSTEM. THE EXISTENCE OF NUMEROUS SMALL, BADLY-ORGANIZED, AND FRACTIOUS POLITICAL PARTIES SEEMINGLY PROMOTES INSTABILITY RATHER THAN STABILITY AND IMPEDES THE TASK OF BUILDING A STABLE CIVIL SOCIETY. IN THE INTERREGNUM BETWEEN THE COLLAPSE OF THE OLD REGIME AND THE FORMATION OF A NEW STABLE POLITICAL ORDER, MANY OBSERVERS FEAR THAT SUCH PARTIES CANNOT EXERCISE SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETY AND ARE, IN FACT, HELPING TO CREATE A POLITICAL VACUUM THAT MAY LEAD TO A REVIVAL OF AUTHORITARIANISM. IN THIS ESSAY, THE AUTHORS (1) EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THIS PROPOSITION; (2) EXPLAIN THE REASONS FOR THE WEAKNESS OF UKRAINIAN PARTIES; (3) ANALYZE THE TRENDS TOWARD GREATER STRUCTURALIZATION OF THE PARTY SYSTEM; AND (4) OUTLINE THE METHODS BY WHICH THE UKRAINIAN AUTHORITIES ARE HOPING TO STRENGTHEN THE ROLE OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE FUTURE.

In this and the next issue we print some articles on alternative ways of funding political parties. He who pays the piper may not always get quite the tune he expects, but it is certainly in the public interest to consides that public funding of parties is possible, as well as controls of types of contribution and enforced publicity. We begin the symposium by reprinting from The Times of April 11, 1973, a characteristically provocative piece by the late Richard Crossman from his all too short‐lived "Personal View Column". We thank The Times for permission to reptint, and pay tribute to the memory of Crossman who was a member of the Board of THE POLITICAL QUARTERLY from 1939 to 1960.

This is a comprehensive study of the special legislation on political parties around the world. In a survey conducted in late 2003, 39 party laws (PLs) identified among the world's states were subjected to a systematic content analysis which confirmed the hypothesis that PLs regulate political parties differently depending on the democratic status of the respective countries. In non-democratic states, regimes tend to use PLs to restrict the freedom of their opponents, while in newly democratized states, democratic regimes use the law to counteract lingering anti-democratic tendencies. In some stable democracies, the PL is primarily a prerequisite for regulation of public party subsidies and political finance. The article concludes with some reflections on PLs in established democratic states.

Writing about political parties in Indonesia makes one suddenly aware of how little research has been done on the subject. With the decline of the parliamentary system since 1957, interest has shifted away from the party order towards the forces of Guided Democracy: President Soekarno, the army, and the Communists. Among the parties, only the Communists have received a great deal of specific attention.

This volume is the sixth in the series of essential readings on Indian government and politics and its focus is on political parties in India. It introduces the reader to the extensive and varied landscape of political parties in India by bringing together classic articles on national and regional organizations and the politics they represent. The book covers an exceptionally wide terrain ranging from individual parties, to the development of nationalism and communalism, and to more current issues like state funding of elections and women's representation

Turkey's growing international profile, candidacy for the EU, and persistent democracy has led to a growing interest in how that country is governed. This book provides portraits of the seven main political parties by Turkish experts who are close observers of these institutions. In addition to providing an analytical survey of Turkish politics today, this volume also provides a fascinating case study on the problems of developing deep-rooted democracy, conflicts between state interests amd interest groups, and the evolution of party systems

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of boxes -- Introduction: What are Parties For? -- Part I: The Major Parties -- 1. The Labour Party -- 2. The Conservative Party -- Part II: The Minor Parties -- 3. The Liberal Democrats -- 4. Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Parties -- Part III: Peripheral Parties -- Introduction -- 5. Right-wing Peripheral Parties -- 6. Left-wing Peripheral Parties -- 7. Other Peripheral Parties and Independent Candidates -- 8. Conclusion: What Kind of Party System? -- References -- Index