The neglected role of political parties in integrating complex governmental structures

Much has been written about the role of political parties in channelling citizen demands on government.  In the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Nicole Bolleyer of the University of Exeter takes a different perspective, examining the role of political parties in integrating complex governmental apparatuses.  Bolleyer’s three-country study finds that parties “facilitate communication and coordination between different decisionmaking arenas,” compensating for the fragmentary tendencies of “increasingly specialized” governmental processes.  But this does not necessarily imply improved coordination between policy arenas: under certain conditions, says Bolleyer, parties might use this “connectedness” to reinforce cross-jurisdictional conflict.  Read the article: The Influence of Political Parties on Policy Coordination.