909.7
Dominant Parties In Non-Western Countries
In general, it is assumed that dominant parties are able to maintain themselves in power election after election thanks to their immense power which they manipulate in order to retain their status. The current presentation refers to Kalder’ Crisis and compensation and suggests that a major factor that accounts for parties to gain strength in non-Western democracies and remain in power for protracted periods stems from their capability to respond effeciently to ongoin social, political and economic challenges. This capibilty warrants parties’ retention of dominance – or at lest dominant influence – over the years. Even if they do not retain an exclusive hold on governmental power, they do imprint their perspectives on the setting’s political scene as a whole. This presentation validates this perspective by analyzing the cases of Japan’s LDP that has been (and still is) in power for decades, and Israel’s Likud which succeeded to ousted the Labor Party from its dominant party position for 40 years.