Vérteši, Kopeček, and Havlík published a new article "Revolution or Evolution? Continuity and Change in Cleavages and Issues in Czech Politics" in the journal Problems of Post-communism
Discussions about Czech politics since 2010 often focus on electoral earthquakes and the emergence of new populist parties such as ANO, led by Andrej Babiš, and SPD, led by Tomio Okamura. However, a detailed analysis of election manifestos since 1990 reveals a different picture: the traditional divisions have not disappeared, but are gradually changing.
The socio-economic axis remains dominant — issues of market regulation and the size of the welfare state continue to shape party competition. The cultural divide — liberal versus conservative — has retained its significance, but it has always been, and remains, much weaker than the socio-economic axis. New parties have therefore adapted to the existing axes of competition rather than radically changing them.
Specific issues such as democracy and the effectiveness of governance have gained in importance. From the perspective of the parties' offerings to voters, Czech politics since 2010 has undergone an evolutionary rather than revolutionary change.
