Political Party and Party System Institutionalization in Albania

Abstract

The drastic transition from the communist regime in a liberal democratic system in Albania has caused the process to be harsh and ambiguous, facing a lot of struggles in establishing a healthy democracy. Literature revealed that political parties have a crucial role in building a consolidated democratic system, since there is no modern democracy functioning without including the role of parties. The vitality of the political parties in the process of democratization should be characterized with strong and stable democratic values, with the scope of representing the citizens and providing policies which determine their willingness toward the public goods. This study examines the institutionalization of the political parties and the party system as a necessity for democracy; using the case of Albania it is analyzed the degree of institutionalization of the political parties in the country taking in regard external institutionalization including the electoral system, the electoral volatility, the electoral parties and their effectiveness, and internal institutionalization including intra-party democracy; measuring here the indicators of intra-party democracy, candidate selection, leadership selection, and policy setting. Results of the study emphasize the fragility of Albanian democracy, and the necessity to build solid, functioning and democratic institutionalization within political parties, as well as intra-party democracy which is a very important feature for the consolidation of democracy.