The Cycle of Coalition How Parties and Voters Interact under Coalition Governance

How does coalition governance shape voters' perceptions of government parties and how does this, in turn, influence party behaviors? Analyzing cross-national panel surveys, election results, experiments, legislative amendments, media reports, and parliamentary speeches, Fortunato finds that coalition compromise can damage parties' reputations for competence as well as their policy brands in the eyes of voters. This incentivizes cabinet partners to take stands against one another throughout the legislative process in order to protect themselves from potential electoral losses. The Cycle of Coalition has broad implications for our understanding of electoral outcomes, partisan choices in campaigns, government formation, and the policy-making process, voters' behaviors at the ballot box, and the overall effectiveness of governance.

1. A lesson learned too late; 2. Motivation and promise; 3. Parties and voters under coalition governance; 4. Perceptions of coalition compromise; 5. Costs of coalition compromise; 6. Collective responsibility and differentiation; 7. What could go wrong?; 8. Does it ever go right?; 9. Pushing forward.

David Fortunato is Associate Professor in the School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego. His research has been published in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, and Journal of Politics, among others.