The Political Opposition: notes for a theoretical discussion

Abstract

Opposition is a role that, in democracies, is usually played by political parties. Its importance is that it is the controlling factor of the governments in turn and they are the alternative for the formation of new governments. But the opposition gets wider connotations depending on the position that particular groups take across the political system. This paper presents an analytical model to distinguish the opposition types in political systems with special attention to Western democracies.