Why Do Political Parties Change their Policy Positions? A Review

Abstract

This article summarises the rapidly increasing number of studies dealing with parties’ positional changes. After a short introduction and a brief discussion of a number of elementary definitions and delimitations, the second section evaluates eight factors commonly associated with party policy change. Here, the proposition that parties tend to respond systematically to changes in public opinion seems to be the most studied and, similarly, the most supported explanation. The third and final section identifies a number of research gaps and recommends topics for future research.