Parties, Policies, And Democracy

Political parties are responsible both for setting the political agenda and for representing the views of minority and majority opinions, and this, the authors of this work argue, they do more effectively than is often thought. Based on an analysis of political parties in ten western countries since the end of World War II, the book provides a general overview of institutional and political programmes and party trends, as well as a more specific examination of the links between party programmes and policy outcomes.