tweepartijvariant

Tweepartijvariant is a classification used in political science to describe a political party system in which two parties dominate the electoral arena and regularly win the majority of seats in legislatures. In such a variant, minor parties exist but rarely attain government power, and elections tend to produce stable alternations of governance between the two large parties. The term is often applied to majoritarian or plurality electoral systems, where the combination of single-member districts and winner-takes-all counting tends to favor two dominant blocs.

Key features include: a clear two-party competition, a tendency toward centralist or broad-based program platforms, strategic voting by sizable portions of the electorate, and relatively predictable government formation even after elections. Coalitions, when needed, are typically constrained to support or confidence agreements rather than formal multi-party governments. Policy change tends to occur through shifts within the two parties rather than through wholesale realignment across many parties.

Origins and geographic distribution: The two-party variant is commonly associated with the United States and, in practice, with the United Kingdom and other English-speaking democracies that use single-member districts. However, the exact degree of dominance varies over time and across countries. Critics argue that it under-represents voter preferences and discourages minor parties, while supporters point to governance stability and clearer accountability.

See also: two-party system, Duverger's law, plurality voting, majoritarianism.