The Effect of Dominant and Central Parties on Cabinet Composition and Durability

Abstract

This article develops a typology of parliamentary games on the basis of the combined presence or absence of parties that are dominant and central players in the game. The author uses the typology to derive predictions with regard to cabinet composition and durability and tests these predictions with data on 382 cabinets in western multiparty democracies (1918-88). The results show that the approach developed here offers a promising perspective for further research on cabinet composition and durability.