The dynamics of party relabeling

Abstract

Contrary to longstanding arguments that equate parties with durable, information-rich brand names, the relabeling of parties is not rare, and in many countries it is not even very unusual. This paper provides the first effort to document this neglected phenomenon. It finds that across European democracies roughly a third of all parties have relabeled themselves at least once since 1945, and a similar proportion of elections include at least one party running under a new name. It then presents analyses of why parties change names more frequently in some circumstances, finding support for three explanations derived from the existing literature: parties with longer-standing brands are less likely to shed them, but relabeling is more likely for parties that suffer electoral setbacks and for parties in weaker party systems. Finally, it presents evidence that the end of Soviet communism made left parties more likely to rename themselves.

Do parties benefit from overhauling their image? The electoral consequences of ‘party rebranding’ in Europe

“…Country and year selection I test my hypotheses on 18 Western European countries from 1945 to 2019. I focus on Western Europe because, while Eastern European parties do change their name (Kim & Solt, 2016), the region's unique political history and relatively inchoate party system means that the logic and effects of rebranding might be different from Western Europe. I include all parties in these countries which competed in two or more elections.…”

“…This argument has been tested in the literature. For example, Kim and Solt (2016) find that ‘electoral shocks’ or large deviations from a party's average electoral performance increase the probability of a party changing its name. It is intuitive that this logic also extends to policy rebrands given that electoral losses predict policy shifts more generally (Budge, 1994; Somer‐Topcu, 2009).…”

A longitudinal analysis of party level candidate turnover drivers in the flexible-list PR system of Flanders (Belgium) (1987–2019)

“…Party name changes are often the exponent of a broader identity change. They can indeed be seen as an attempt of the party to rebrand and to present itself to the electorate with renewed commitments (Kim and Solt, 2017). In order to embody this new identity, the party selectorates can be assumed to look for new candidates.…”