Future shock or future stability?: Generational change and the Australian party system

Abstract

The stability of the Australian two-party system has been a long-running feature of Australian politics. But a question outstanding in the literature is how different generations of Australians contribute to the stability of the Australian two-party system and how this has changed over time. In answering this question, this article sheds light on generational effects and party system change that better informs us about the sources of voting patterns over a long period of time. Further, this article draws on and builds on the international literature on generations and party systems.