What constitutes a faction, as opposed to a party? It is a political identity based on ideology, mentality, predisposition, or even history. Factions often form and solidify after a deep division that creates political, economic, and social divisions. Political camps can survive and thrive even when the conditions that created them change. The faction has a social base and a historical background. Although parties appear in public discourse as representatives of the faction, this is often a claim and not a real situation. Factions sometimes unite into a political formation over time, but unity remains the goal and is not guaranteed.
This book aims to explore the continuities and discontinuities of factions and parties and their integration into a historical perspective from 1945 to September 2015, when the elections revealed a new crystallization, albeit temporary or short-lived, of the party system.