Parties and Party Arrangements in Southeast Asia and Oceania: Sub-continental Frameworks, Comparative Research, and Party Theory-Building

Abstract

Parties and Party Arrangements in Southeast Asia and Oceania: Sub-continental Frameworks, Comparative Research, and Party Theory-Building The major purpose of the article is to assess the contribution of the study of parties and party arrangements in Southeast Asian and Oceanian (particularly Melanesian and Polynesian) polities to contemporary comparative party research, as well as to party theory-building. The sub-continental frameworks of Southeast Asia and Oceania offer a large range of opportunities for comparative enterprises. However, the development of innovative theorizing drawing from investigations into Southeast Asian and Oceanian party phenomena has been constrained by persisting inconsistencies in the conceptualization and/or categorization of party arrangements, and-even more importantly-by a low awareness of methodological and epistemological problems that are involved in cross-area comparisons. The authors argue that a reassessment of research strategies is needed in order to change this situation.