Oversized coalitions in Central and Eastern Europe: a Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Oversized coalitions are not unusual in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), but there is less attention to the puzzle of why political parties seek to form them. Empirical studies of CEE often lack a systematic comparative perspective of the different mechanisms. Theoretically informed studies face a difficulty of the application to coalition games in CEE. To fill the gap, this article investigates pathways of oversized coalitions in CEE with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). This study shows that multiple causal paths can be constructed by combined conditions relating to main hypotheses from coalition theory. The major findings are: (1) bargaining power concentration would have a contextual effect on oversized coalitions; (2) median in policy dimension(s) could be seen as a key concept to provide an explanation of the coalition pattern in CEE; and (3) bicameral and semi-presidential structure cannot be rejected as a combined factor for broader coalitions in CEE.