This work reassesses the perception of centre parties as a force of moderation, for it is this intuitive judgment that pervades the little literature which exists on the centre, and it argues that the centre has the capacity to stimulate polarization. The book attempts to settle an age-old debate by claiming that the view of centre parties that has become acceptable almost universally by political scientists, and has achieved the status of an axiom when politics is discussed, is dubious, if not outright incorrect.
"With the end of ideology, more and more parties are centre-seeking. This is then a most timely book on a distressingly neglected topic. The work intelligently and intriguingly discusses the overall centre doctrine. The best coverage to date on the subject.”
Giovanni Sartori, Columbia University
"It is astonishing how little scholarly attention has been devoted to the centre in European politics. Reuven Hazan fills that gap with a much needed book which is both important and interesting.”
Stefano Bartolini, European University Institute
On Centre Parties, from West European Politics
Reuven Hazan's book is a scholarly and valuable study of the impact of centre parties on party system dynamics... Hazan makes a major contribution to our understanding of what a centre party is and the influence such parties have on centrifugal and centripetal patterns of electoral competition and hence on patterns of government formation and political stability. The book is constructed with great care; the theoretical arguments and methodology used being presented rigorously and with great clarity.
