Macro and meso causes of party factionalism: A comparative analysis

In the context of the literature devoted to phenomena of organization and competition for power, much attention has been dedicated to political parties, since they were generally recognized as discernible organizations performing legitimate function for the polity. However, parties “are not monolithic structures but collective entities in which competition, divided opinions and dissent create internal pressures” (Boucek, 2009: 55). Though not directly observable, factions are in most parties formed as consequences of these pressures; and this phenomenon makes the unitary actor assumption questionable. Thus factions are an important aspect of the political arena and their formal or informal existence inside most political parties makes their study a matter of significant importance.

            This paper places a particular focus on the causes of party factionalism. Drawing on an institutional approach, it explores the potential factors of party factionalism at different levels of the polity, through a cross sectional analysis. Firstly, the paper defines the concepts of “faction” and “factionalism”, and clarifies their links with other concepts, such as party “cohesion”, “coherence”, “discipline” or “fragmentation”. Secondly, the analysis show how, at a macro level, several elements of the electoral system (electoral formula, district magnitude, structure of the ballot…) might impact on political parties' degree of factionalization. Thirdly, this paper examines how, at the organizational level, different procedures for candidate and leadership selection might also influence the degree of cohesion or intra-party conflict. Finally, the paper makes a couple of suggestions about how could be improved the study of party factionalism.