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Sumary
Many factors influence political parties’ level of nationalization and vertical integration. One of these factors, the regulation of electoral coalitions, has been so far particularly neglected by studies on this issue. This article offers a comparative analysis of the way Latin American countries regulate electoral coalition formation, focusing on the potential impact of different types of regulation on the balance of power between national and sub-national branches of parties, and therefore on the levels of nationalization and vertical integration. The article presents the concept of “coalition congruence”, which is observed along three dimensions. Following this analytical framework, the article classifies Latin American countries in four different groups based on how their regulation of electoral coalition formation stimulates political parties nationalization and vertical integration |
