Western European and English Political Parties Essay by serendipity

This paper explains that Lipset and Rokkan based their freezing hypothesis on the assumption that if men were given equal right to vote, then a level of social freezing would take place, limiting the emergence of oppositional parties. The author believes that, although much interpretation of mass politics in Western Europe is derived from Rokkan's and Lipset's freezing hypothesis, this approach suffers from two problems: it pays little attention to the underlying values, as opposed to issues, which inform class and religious, and treats the relationship between social divisions and party politics as too deterministic, leaving little room for the human element in political movements, political leadership. The paper stresses the proof the freeze hypothesis needs to be reconsidered can be found in the success of alternative parties in Western Europe and England, such as the Green party.