Nationalization versus regionalization: features of the party system development in Ukraine (1991–2020)

Abstract

In this article, the authors present their vision of the theoretical and empirical aspects of the party system’s nationalization and regionalization in Ukraine in 1991–2020. Electoral processes and the party system structuring in Ukraine are analyzed through the prism of the nationalization theory. The main factors that affect the processes of nationalization / regionalization of the party system (sociocultural heterogeneity, features of post-communist transit, political regime, electoral rules) are characterized. The degree of nationalization / regionalization of the Ukrainian party system is analyzed using a set of empirical indicators: the index of the effective number of parties, the Pedersen volatility index, and the nationalization index. Comparison of empirical indicators testifies to the variability of the processes of parties’ nationalization and regionalization based on the election results, and also demonstrates the ambivalence of the party system development in Ukraine and the low level of its institutionalization. A general conclusion is made about the low level of nationalization of the party system and the heterogeneity (regionality) of party preferences of the citizens of Ukraine.