Although the macro and micro models of development find their origin in analyses of the evolution of the American Congress, it is possible to expand them beyond the American and even beyond the legislative contexts. The modifications necessary to apply these models of development to the European Parliament were discussed in Chapter 2. In this chapter I adapt them to an analysis of the evolution of the supranational party group system and the internal development of the party groups themselves. There is a great deal of literature on both political parties and party systems. I believe, however, that an application of the macro and micro models can further expand our understanding of the developmental process of parties and party systems. By applying these models of development we can focus on the impact that external changes (increases) in legislative power have had on the internal organization of the party groups and their interactions with each other.

I address first the development of the party system and then the internal evolution of the supranational party groups. In each case I first briefly discuss some of the traditional literature. I then move on to explain how the macro and micro models can be adapted to be applicable in each case. Finally, I use the macro and micro models to derive hypotheses about the character of party system and party group development and outline how I plan to test these hypotheses.

The Development of the Party Group System

Traditional analyses of party systems tend to focus on the number of parties within a system, the character of interparty competition, and the level of ideological polarization (Duverger, 1954; Sartori, 1976; Panebianco, 1982).