Organization of new political parties: between cooptation and contestation strategies

Abstract:

This article seeks to demonstrate, through the analysis of the Brazilian case, how the creation strategy of new political parties determines their ability to survive competitively and their level of electoral performance over time. Based on original data, we show how the understanding the creation strategy of new parties is essential for understanding their future impact on political competition. We innovate in the debate by indicating that party strategies at the moment of the creation have played a relevant role in explaining their evolution and competitive success. We use biographical data from parliamentarians in the Chamber of Deputies and electoral data to explain the differences in the type of training strategies and the success of these new parties. In doing so, we contribute to filling a gap in the study of new parties in Brazil, a well-known, but little studied phenomenon.

Keywords:
New parties; political organization; electoral coordination; political representation; political behavior