This volume is the first book length treatment of the cartel party thesis, one of the most influential theories in party politics. It examines what cartelization means for parties and party systems, and what it means for the future of democracy.

• 1: The Problem


• 2: The Rise and Decline of Parties


• 3: The Locus of Power in Parties


• 4: Parties and One Another


• 5: Parties and the State


• 6: The Cartel Party


• 7: The Cartel Party and Populist Opposition

Richard S. Katz is Professor of Political Science at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He was co-editor of the European Journal of Political Research (2006-2012). His books include A Theory of Parties and Electoral Systems (Johns Hopkins 1980, 2006), Democracy and Elections (Oxford 1997), Handbook of Party Politics (co-edited with William Crotty, Sage, 2006), The Challenges of Intra-Party Democracy (co-edited with William P. Cross, OUP, 2013). He is vice-chair and treasurer on the Executive Committee of the European Consortium for Political Research.
The late Peter Mair was Professor of Comparative Politics at the European University Institute. His publications include Ruling the Void: The Hollowing of Western Democracy (Verso, 2013), Party Patronage and Party Government in European Democracies (co-edited with Petr Kopecký and Marcia Spirova, OUP, 2012), Party System Change: Approaches and Interpretations, and Identity, Competition, and Electoral Availability (edited, Cambridge, 1990).