ABSTRACT
To succeed, democracy building in post-conflict situations requires political parties to be both competent and committed to the democratic rules of the game. Former belligerents tend to dominate. This article investigates how contextual factors and more particularly the institutional framework in which a party operates affect internal organizational dynamics, and how these in turn affect the challenges that adaptation to democratic politics pose to party leaders. It examines the nested games played by party leaders as they struggle to retain control of their parties and compete with other parties for political power. The analysis focuses on cases drawn from El Salvador, Bosnia, Kosovo and Mozambique, and shows how inter-party competition shapes the identities, priorities, tactics and strategies, which in turn affect the prospects for democratization. The role of international actors in influencing both processes and outcomes in these situations must also be taken into account, especially where democratization is viewed as a means to the end of establishing peace and not simply as goal in its own right.
