Party and government

de Blondel, Jean, Maurizio Cotta

Party and Government is the first systematic study of one of the most important questions of contemporary liberal democracies: who really governs? Is it the government or the party, or parties, which support this government? In this study, which covers nine Western European countries, the United States and India, specialists of these countries examine the answers to the question of the 'autonomy' or 'interdependence' of party and government on the basis of a common framework which covers the three levels of the relationship-appointments, policy-making, and patronage.