Agrarian Parties: Remembrance of Things Past Central European Agrarian Parties in a Comparative Perspective
No.3(2009)
Abstract
Keywords:
Agrarian Parties; Agrarian Ideology; Central Europe; Western Europe; Party Families
The paper deals with the agrarian party family in Europe. Authors try to offer a comprehensive survey of historical developments, changes and trajectories followed by agrarian parties during the 20th and the 21st century. The attempt in cross-European comparison is provided because both Western European (Scandinavian, Swiss, and other examples) as well as Central European (Visegrád countries plus Slovenia) are taken into account with emphasis put on agrarian parties in Central European countries. Different strategies of (former) agrarian parties are presented with which these political parties challenged decline of “natural” electoral support of shrinking rural population. Finally, the comparison of ideological and manifesto dimensions of (ex-)agrarian party politics is provided in order to evaluate to what extent there is still a real existing agrarian party family.
Agrarian Parties; Agrarian Ideology; Central Europe; Western Europe; Party Families