The institutionalization of the party system: The same dimensions of analysis, different interpretations

Abstract

This paperquestionsthe concept of institutionalization of the party systems proposed by Mainwaring and Scully (1995). We demonstrate that the theoretical and operational aspects of this concept may leadto spurious interpretations about the organization and durability of each party systemand the democratic government in which they insert themselves. We criticize comparative analysis that are unidimensional and fail toconsider the particularities of each country and the development of its party system. To presentthis interpretation,we analyse the four conditions involved in the concept of party institutionalization based on thecity parliaments in Brazil, which show the most disaggregated level of competition and, therefore, increases our number of observations. Regarding this analysis, our empirical data shows that the Brazilian party system can be classified as stable.