The present study tests the assumption that size affects party system fragmentation. Three dependent variables are used: the number of parties, the electoral support for the leading party, and the effective number of parties. The study operates on two levels. On the macro level, the research population consists of 77 countries with free party systems. On the micro level, local units in Great Britain and Finland constitute the object of research. The impact of the following intervening variables is controlled for: the effective threshold, presidentialism, socioeconomic diversification, and ethnic and religious diversity. On the macro level, the results show that size contains far more explanatory power than any other variable. This holds true for countries using a plurality electoral system as well as those using a proportional electoral system. On the micro level, there is a strong association between the size of the population and the number of parties, whereas the other dependent variables are insensitive to variations in size.
The belief that modern democracy is party democracy is widespread. However, the belief may be questioned. A number of small independent island states that subscribe to a high extent to democratic values, standards, and institutions manage without political parties. In all, six such cases exist, namely, Belau (Palau), the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Tuvalu. The analysis of these cases is guided by three general assumptions: (a) the impact of diminutive size on the existence and number of parties, (b) the corresponding impact of geographical noncontiguity, and (c) the impact of culturally defined resistances against party life and party rule. Comparisons with conditions in other small island states suggest that the assumptions are valid given that extreme values are entered into the analysis. Extreme smallness, an extremely archipelagic geography, and an intense cultural resistance all contribute to an absence of political parties in democracies.
The aim of this global study is to assess the impact of physical variables (size and islandness) on the degree of democracy. The study is conducted at three points in time: 1972, 1985, and 2005. The following variables are controlled for: socioeconomic development, ethnic or linguistic heterogeneity, British or American colonial heritage, and dominant religion. The results show that size per se contains little explanatory value. Findings indicate that religion is becoming a key determinant of democracy during the "fourth wave" of democratization. Furthermore, the success of democracy in non-Christian settings does not depend on the level of socioeconomic development. Instead, results show that as democracy tries to gain a foothold in non-Christian settings, insularity smoothes the transition to popular government. The impact of islandness on democracy within this particular context is increasing over time.
Size and DemocracyA classic question which involves physical characteristics, dealt with for the fi rst time in ancient Greece by Plato and Aristotle, concerns the relation between size and democracy. The present work falls explicitly within this tradition in that it aims to assess the strength of association between the size of countries and their corresponding levels of democracy at three points in time. It is, no doubt, of interest to note that there is theoretical support both for an assumption that links smallness to democracy as well as for a counter-assumption which states that largeness is conducive to a democratic form of government. The fi rst view was advocated by Plato and Aristotle, both of whom argued that in a small unit people share a common base of interest and also, by necessity, a common destiny. The Greek philosophers went as far as pointing out the critical size limit above which at UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN LIBRARY on March 15, 2015 ips.sagepub.com Downloaded from
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