Publication

This paper proposes a formal model explaining the benefits that political parties derive from apparentments – or coalitions of several electoral lists – based on their alliance strategies and relative size. The study reveals that apparentments are most beneficial for highly fractionalised political blocs, and that large parties stand to gain more from apparentments than small parties. The author supports his argument with empirical data from the Swiss national parliamentary elections covering a period from 1995 to 2007.