ABSTRACT
Party identification, defined as an enduring commitment or attachment to a particular political party, has for more than half a century been at the heart of research on electoral behavior in many countries around the world. Although the concept of party identification has been the subject of vigorous debate, it is thought to serve a number of important functions that help to integrate citizens with political processes. Comparative research on partisanship has been hampered by a number of methodological challenges. The idea of party identification means different things in different countries - and so it is not always possible to compare like with like. A growing body of research has shown that in many Western democracies the level of partisanship has noticeably declined over the last few decades. Although some countries have witnessed a pronounced decline in partisanship others have not.
