Handbook of Party Politics Edited by Richard S. Katz & William Crotty Political parties are indispensable to democracy and a central subject of research and study in political science. This major new Handbook is the first to comprehensively map the state-of-the-art in contemporary party politics scholarship. The Handbook is designed to: * provide an invaluable survey of the major theories and approaches in this dynamic area of study and research * give students and researchers a concise 'road map' to the core literatures in all the sub-fields of party-related theorizing and research * identify the theories, approaches and topics that define the current 'cutting edge' of the field It is comparative in overall approach but also addresses some topics in nationally or regionally specific ways. The resulting collaboration has brought together the world's leading party theorists to provide an unrivalled resource on the role of parties in the pressing contemporary problems of institutional design and democratic governance today. The Handbook of Party Politics will be essential reading for all students and academics in this vibrant area of study and research political science. Richard S. katz is Professor in the Department of Political Science at The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. William Crotty is Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at Northeastern University.