The study of Central European party systems has hitherto mostly focused on such questions as the structure of cleavages, the format and the mechanism of systems, as well as the role of elections in their reproduction. The proposed project enhances this research by introducing the policy space perspective
(Benoit-Laver 2006). The basic assumption is as follows: by employing categories of proximity and distance between the political actors, conflicts that are latently or manifestly present in the party system can be represented within the policy space. The mapping of this space is not only descriptive; it is also important for the study of party interactions and party polarisation.
The project maps policy space in the countries of the V4 Group (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia). Its methods mostly replicate those used in the study undertaken by Laver and Benoit in 2002–2003. This new wave of research will help to evaluate the transformation of the political space of the countries of the Visegrad group brought about by the entrance of new political actors into their party systems; it also evaluates how this space was influenced by certain conjunctural factors, especially accession to the EU and the global economic crisis.

Publications