The Changing Nature of Political Party Membership

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Scarrow
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Digital Citizenship ◽  
Party Membership ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Political Empowerment ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Parliamentary Democracies ◽  
New Procedures

Party membership has long been an important channel for political participation in many countries. Strong membership organizations have helped parties win elections and stay connected with voters between elections, and membership opportunities have helped to mobilize some citizens who might otherwise have stayed out of politics. Yet in the last quarter-century, long-established political parties in parliamentary democracies have, with a few notable exceptions, experienced sharp enrollment declines, while newer parties have developed modest memberships at best. This has led many observers to question the continued viability of membership-based political parties. However, that is not the whole story. While some signs point to the obsolescence of party membership, there are other indications that parties are trying to reinvent the form, whether as a passport to individual political empowerment or as a pathway to digital citizenship. Most strikingly, many parties are experimenting with new procedures that give members a direct say in important party decisions. In this sense, the paradoxical story of party membership in the early 21st century is one of numerical decline accompanied by a possible increase in political relevance.

Using Social Network Analysis (SNA) to Study Members and Activists of Political Parties

2020 ◽  
Vol 147-148 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 13-48
Author(s):  
Emilien Paulis
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Network Data ◽  
Party Member ◽  
Party Membership ◽  
Local Party

This article explores the development of my PhD dissertation’s methodological approach, based on Social Network Analysis (SNA), or the collection and analysis of network data, in order to deal with political parties and their members (party membership). I extensively relied on this alternative, growing methodological background in three extents. First (1), SNA was used to analyze bibliographic references related to my dissertation topic, i.e. party membership studies, and identify the most central authors, thereby illustrating the literature review while describing their key contributions. Second (2), SNA was employed to collect and analyze network data likely to better grasp how interpersonal networks affect the probability for a random citizen to turn into party member, assuming that social influence matters in the process of joining a political party. Third (3), I further capitalized on SNA to deal with the question of party activism and why some members become active whereas others remain passive, arguing theoretically and showing empirically that part of the answer lies in members’ position within their local party branch’s social network. Each of these three applications is discussed in the light of the main methodological developments, the empirical findings and their interpretation, while shortcomings and research opportunities are more systematically highlighted at the end.

Political parties and policy analysis in Colombia

2020 ◽  
pp. 241-256
Author(s):  
Sebastián Líppez-De Castro
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Policy Actor ◽  
The Third ◽  
Political Party System ◽  
Historical Trajectory

This chapter traces the development of the political party system in Colombia, focusing on characteristics related to their production or consumption of policy analysis. It stresses that political parties will not fully utilize policy analysis to guide their decisions and priorities, as long as clientelistic linkages prevail. It also mentions the third or nongovernmental sector, which is increasingly recognized as an important policy actor or potential policy actor in all countries. The chapter describes the historical trajectory of the Colombian party system, its make-up in the 21st century, and key institutional features affecting parties' use of policy analysis. It identifies some of the mechanisms through which 21st-century Colombian political parties produce or rely on policy analysis.

scholarly journals Pathways into Political Party Membership: Case Studies of Hong Kong Youth

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoi-Yu Ng
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Young People ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Party Membership ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Party Members ◽  
The Individual

This article explores and conceptualizes the individual mobilization processes into political party membership of a sample of young people in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous and semi-democratic region under Chinese sovereignty where political parties are relatively underdeveloped. Based on life history interviews with 23 young party members, I found that the mobilization of young people into party membership comprises three different steps. I also found that not all young party members went through the same order of steps. In total, three orders of steps are identified, which create three different paths into party membership. Lastly, this article found that each mobilization path is shaped by a specific set of macro-, meso-, and individual level influences.

Rules of Engagement?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Kosiara-Pedersen ◽  
Susan E. Scarrow ◽  
Emilie van Haute
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Lower Price ◽  
The Political ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Demand Side ◽  
Party Membership ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Party Members

This chapter investigates whether variations in party affiliation rules have political consequences, looking in particular at their effects on partisan participation. The research presented here combines data from the Political Party Database (PPDB) with surveys of party members and party supporters, looking for evidence of whether potential affiliates’ behaviour is sensitive to the relative costs of party membership. The data suggest that such sensitivity exists, with supporters being more likely to join parties which offer more benefits, and which offer membership at a lower price. They are also less likely to acquire traditional membership if cheaper affiliation options exist. Conversely, when membership is relatively costly, those who do join are more likely to use their membership by being active in the party. Our findings provide some support for demand-side views of party membership, according to which political parties are able to use membership rules to affect who joins a party.

Election Poster Persuasion

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malte Schott ◽  
Jule Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Policy Evaluation ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Need For Cognition ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Additional Measure ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Policy Statements ◽  
Voting Intentions

Abstract. We examined the effect of presenting unknown policy statements on German parties’ election posters. Study 1 showed that participants inferred the quality of a presented policy from knowledge about the respective political party. Study 2 showed that participants’ own political preferences influenced valence estimates: policy statements presented on campaign posters of liked political parties were rated significantly more positive than those presented on posters of disliked political parties. Study 3 replicated the findings of Study 2 with an additional measure of participants’ need for cognition. Need for cognition scores were unrelated to the valence transfer from political parties to policy evaluation. Study 4 replicated the findings of Studies 2 and 3 with an additional measure of participants’ voting intentions. Voting intentions were a significant predictor for valence transfer. Participants credited both their individually liked and disliked political parties for supporting the two unknown policies. However, the credit attributed to the liked party was significantly higher than to the disliked one. Study 5 replicated the findings of Studies 2, 3, and 4. Additionally, participants evaluated political clubs that were associated with the same policies previously presented on election posters. Here, a second-degree transfer emerged: from party valence to policy evaluation and from policy evaluation to club evaluation. Implications of the presented studies for policy communications and election campaigning are discussed.

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