Party Transformation in France and the United States: The Hierarchical Effects of System Change in Comparative Perspective

This article compares the process of party transformation at the intermediate level of the political system in France and the United States. It presents a model that captures the sequence of party change: the primary stimulus for party change at the intermediate level comes from shocks to the system at the national (whole system) level. Four major propositions regarding party transformation at the intermediate level are derived from this model and tested in a preliminary fashion, using data from three French departments and three U.S. states. The article concludes that the model may help us understand party development in both cases as being less exceptional and more comparable than is frequently assumed.