Essays on spatial coalition formation theory

: Consecutive political crises in Belgium during the periods 2007-2008 and 2010-2011 demonstrated the importance of coalition formation and the necessity for a good understanding of this process. Belgium, other countries alike, is run by a caretaker government in those periods between an election and the inauguration of the new government. Because such periods are generally not considered as beneficial to a country, government formation processes and the characteristics of the ensuing (coalition) governments have attracted a substantial amount of scholarly attention. Despite the many efforts that have been made, gaps remain in the theoretical framework. A first shortcoming is the limited number of scholars who try to explain the duration of government formations. Secondly, the majority of multidimensional models assume that all policy dimensions are viewed as equally important, and that this is true for all parties. Another limitation is the adherence to the Euclidean distance function...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2015
• Where: 4OR
• Authors: Tom Blockmans
• Keywords: 4OR 2015, Computer Science