Balashova O. Evolution of party systems of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland (1989-2019)

The dissertation is devoted to a thorough study of the evolution of the party systems of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland in 1989–2019. The theoretical and methodological foundations of the study of party systems and approaches to their classification proposed by the national and foreign scientists have been analyzed. The main achievements of the Ukrainian and Polish scientists in the field of the party system evolution of the studied countries have been analyzed. The methodological tools of the study, including the indexes of nationalization, electoral volatility and the Nagayama triangle model, which are used for the analyzing of the party systems of Ukraine and Poland have been outlined in the chapter. The description of the features of the received quantitative data has been presented. All risks and errors of application of the concrete methodology in the realities of the chosen countries have been defined. The party system of Ukraine during the period of its independence with the special emphasis on the stages in changing of the party system configuration, the main characteristics and peculiarities inherent in each of them have been analyzed too. The factors that contributed to this particular model of evolution have been determined. All received conclusions have been empirically confirmed by the received quantitative data. The evolution of the party system of the Republic of Poland in 1989–2019 with the use of the same quantitative methodology has been presents in the dissertation. The primary focus has been directed at the process of party building and inter-party interaction. Considerable attention has been paid to studying the main political forces of the Republic of Poland in the context of parliamentary electoral cycles. The main factors that contributed to the successful consolidation of the Polish party system have been studied. Тhe comparason of the evolution of the party systems of Ukraine and Poland using nine criteria – indicators of nationalization, electoral volatility, the form of party competition, the institutional framework of the party system, the number and effectiveness of political parties, ways of party funding, the importance of personalization and ideology in process of party creation and party functioning, has been conducted in the thesis. The author has attempted to explain why the Ukrainian version of the transformation of the party system differs so radically from the Polish one and has highlighted a number of recommendations for qualitative reforming of the party system of Ukraine.