ABSTRACT
Europe is essentially a continent ruled by states with democratically elected governments. Constitutional provision for public representation and elections may be crucial for democracy, but they are largely meaningless in the absence of organized political parties. Only a minority of the plethora of political parties in Europe ever expects to be the party of government. Since the late 19th century European political parties have gone through a succession of developmental stages, which has seen them change from being the preserve of wealthy landed elite to vehicles for representing mass political opinion. The durability of political parties, or more precisely their underlying organization, is well illustrated by the fate of many of the former, and apparently much reviled Communist parties in what is now central Europe. In Northern Ireland the largest regional parties, the Official Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party, campaign to see the union strengthened against the all-Ireland nationalism that has already engulfed the south of the country.
