Political parties are the central link in modern democracies: they get support from electors for their policies and put them into practice in government. At least, according to democratic theory. This book examines the actual behavior of 500 governments in 20 postwar democracies (including the East European Community, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Israel) to determine how parties operate government. It concludes that parties do function more or less as modern democratic theory says they should, and provides an understanding of not only how democratic government works but also its moral justification.The Comparative European Politics series, published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research, is designed for students and teachers of political science and related disciplines. Each volume will provide an up-to-date survey of the current state of knowledge and research on an issue of major significance in European government and politics.