". . . a welcome advancement in the pursuit of meaningful cross-national generalizations about democratic party systems."
—W. M. Downs, Georgia State University, Choice, September 2002
— W. M. Downs, Georgia State University, Choice
"Considering the frequency with which new political parties emerge in established democracies, the dearth of truly comparative work on this topic is surprising. Altering Party Systems represents an ambitious attempt to fill this gap. Combining formal methods with quantitative analysis, this work aims to identify an underlying logic common to the formation of such parties. . . . Altering Party Systems will undoubtedly provoke considerable debate among party theorists. The author has successfully laid out his argument in such a way as to make the book accessible to readers with little or no training in game theory. . . . [T]his book has a great deal to recommend it and deserves to have a wide readership. In particular, the research design, which combines qualitative, quantitative, and formal modeling, merits wider application in comparative politics."
—Gail McElroy, Trinity College, Dublin, Journal of Politics, November 2002
— Gail McElroy, Trinity College, Dublin, Journal of Politics
"By promoting a theoretical, as opposed to descriptive, approach to analyzing new party formation, the book makes a substantial contribution to the new parties literature and points the way forward for future scholars."
—Arnie Kreppel, University of Florida, Perspectives on Politics, March 2003
— Arnie Kreppel, University of Florida, Perspectives on Politics
"Hug's book is an important step forward in examining the conditions under which new parties form."
—Carles Boix, University of Chicago, West European Politics, October 2002
— Carles Boix, University of Chicago, West European Politics