This text studies the actual behaviour of some 400 governments in 20 post-World War II democracies, including those of Western Europe, Australia, Israel, Japan and New Zealand. It concludes that parties do in fact function in accordance with modern democratic theory.

This book examines the actual behavior of 400 governments in 20 postwar democracies (including those of Western Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Israel) to determine how political parties operate and shape the special characteristics of individual governments. It concludes that parties do function more or less as modern democratic theory says they should, and provides an understanding of democratic government and its moral justification.

Budge and Keman amass a formidable amount of evidence in support of their thesis that policy is the major determining factor in the creation and sustenance of coalition governments.