When do parties emphasise extreme positions? How strategic incentives for policy differentiation influence issue importance

摘要: Parties have an incentive to take up extreme positions in order achieve policy differentiation and issue ownership, it would make sense for a party stress these as well. These incentives are not the same all issues parties but may be modified by other strategic conditions: size, system positional distinctiveness systemic salience. Using manifesto-based measures of salience expert assessments positions, findings this article that emphasise if, first, they relatively small terms vote share; second, position is distinctive from those parties; third, fail issue. consequences our understanding strategies, competition radicalisation political debates.