"Analysis of Western political parties has long been based on the social cleavages theory of Lipset and Rokkan; but that theory has always had little explanatory power with respect to Third World parties where, conversely, "charismatic" leaders have typically played a major role. The same thing does in fact occur in the West, which may or may not be a new development. It is therefore time for a new theory, both global and empirical, that takes social cleavages into account, of course, but that also takes into account the personalization of power as an explanatory factor in the development of political parties."