Parties in Russia: party system nationalisation in dominant party systems

ABSTRACT Party system nationalisation is regarded as a process that signifies democratic and party system development. This article extends understanding on the topic by studying the phenomenon in dominant party systems. Insofar as electoral autocracies have become the most common type of authoritarian regimes, the evolution of party system nationalisation in electoral autocracies is an important and promising field worthy of empirical study. Contrary to existing research, party system nationalisation in dominant party systems is not necessarily positively correlated with democratisation. Examining the interaction between the crystallisation of a dominant party and party system nationalisation, this article demonstrates that the former can increase the latter at the beginning of the dominant party's growth. Indeed, the dominant party can elevate the importance and operation of party labels, but not always coinciding with democratisation.