ABSTRACT
The new party evolution is determined by an interplay between the structural dispositions of party formation and the strategic choices of the party elites. The advent of the new parties is studied within a theoretical framework encompassing both dimensions, the demand and supply-sides. In the post-communist circumstances of Central Europe, a number of currents of dissatisfaction have come together to form a unique extensive reservoir of voters prepared to elect new parties, mostly ad hoc non-rooted top-down ‘entrepreneurial’ parties. The majority of the new political projects have consciously avoided the label of ‘political party,’ and in their name have instrumentally used the term ‘movement.’ This is linked with the lack of trust in the official parties within post-communist societies. The start-up parties are political projects established specifically as an instrumental financial investment. The modern elite party as a broad concept is based primarily on elitist and marketing characteristics and strategies.
