Political Parties and Political Systems: The Concept of Linkage Revisited

Extract

Political Parties and Political Systems: The Concept of Linkage Revisited, Andrea Römmele, David M. Farrell, Piero Ignazi, eds., Westport CN: Praeger/Greenwood, 2005, pp. x, 181.

This is a book of nine short essays that develop and extend the ideas of linkage theory. The nature of the relationship between citizens and the state, through political parties and other organizations, has been a focus of study in a range of democratic regimes at least since de Tocqueville. Kay Lawson has dedicated a career to the study and classification of linkage relationships and to developing theories about how citizens and subjects are linked to the state. Lawson's best-known works included The Comparative Study of Political Parties (1976), Political Parties and Linkage: A Comparative Perspective (1980), When Parties Fail: Emerging Alternative Organizations (co-edited with Peter H. Merkl, 1988), and How Political Parties Work: Perspectives from Within (1994).. This volume does not claim to be a festschrift but it celebrates, applies and extends her work.