Measuring candidate selection mechanisms in European elections: Comparing formal party rules to candidate survey responses

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A Meserve ◽  
Sivagaminathan Palani ◽  
Daniel Pemstein
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
Survey Respondent ◽  
Selection Procedures ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Selection Mechanisms ◽  
Survey Measure

Students of party organization often rely on politicians’ perceptions when measuring internal party institutions and organizational characteristics. We compare a commonly used survey measure of political parties’ European Parliament candidate selection mechanisms to measures that the authors coded directly from parties’ selection rules. We find substantial disconnect between formal institutions and survey respondent perceptions of selection mechanisms, raising questions about measure accuracy and equivalency. While this divergence may be driven either by distinctions between de jure and de facto selection procedures or by respondent error, we find the differences between the two measures are unsystematic. Our findings suggest that authors studying party characteristics must decide whether their research question calls for survey or formal institutional measures.

‘I bend, indeed, but never break’: Formal rules and informal processes of candidate selection for European elections

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-55
Author(s):  
Camille Kelbel
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
European Level ◽  
Selection Procedures ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Central Aspect ◽  
The Media ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Formal Rules

Many of the criticisms commonly made of modern political parties concern their alleged lack of transparency and use of informality in their inner organization. Yet, little is known about the extent to which parties really bend their rules. This article investigates whether and how political parties use informality in one central aspect of intra-party life: candidate selection. More specifically, selection procedures for European elections are examined since party actions at the European level are still under little scrutiny from the media and the voters, hence granting them much leeway. To compare rules with practices, actors and levels cited in 51 party statutes are matched with their uses in 2014, gathered through a survey and interviews of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Even though informal processes are found to be generally less inclusive than the rules prescribed, divergences are often modest, suggesting that parties do not necessarily rely on informality in their day-to-day functioning.

Party organization and gender in European elections

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 675-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea S Aldrich
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Selection Procedures ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Party Strategy ◽  
Promote Gender Equality ◽  
Level I ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Elected Office

Political parties often monopolize the flow of politicians into elected office making it important to understand when, and under what conditions, parties are more or less likely to promote gender equality in representation. This article argues that party choices to nominate women in elections are conditional on the centralization of candidate selection within the party. Gender quotas and characteristics of the electoral environment have differential effects on candidate lists across party types. Leveraging data at the party level, I test when it is electorally feasible and organizationally possible for parties to nominate women for office. I find that candidate selection procedures condition the effects of party strategy and characteristics of the electoral environment on the percentage of women on electoral lists. The results provide insight into how strategic party choices, attenuated by electoral considerations and organization, impact the diversity of representation in political institutions.

How candidate selection structures and genders political ambition: illustrations from Uruguay

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-78
Author(s):  
Cecilia Josefsson
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
Political Ambition ◽  
Leadership Selection ◽  
Selection Procedures ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions ◽  
Almost All

Men’s over-representation persists in almost all legislatures. This article engages with this problem by bringing together literature on the gendered nature of political parties and literature on the gender gap in political ambition to argue that candidate selection procedures structure the meaning and importance of political ambition. Exploiting the large variation in formal and informal institutions guiding candidate selection in Uruguay, I theorise and empirically explore how two of the most common ways to select legislative candidates worldwide – (1) primaries and (2) exclusive leadership selection – shape the meaning and importance of political ambition in diverging ways, with gendered effects.

Institutional reforms and their effect on legislators’ behavior

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Shomer
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Selection Method ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Selection Procedures ◽  
Conditional Effect ◽  
Selection Mechanisms ◽  
Party Behavior

Do electoral systems and intra-party candidate selection procedures influence the degree to which parties act in unison? Whereas the theoretical literature is quite clear about the hypothetical effect of these institutions, empirical evidence is mixed. In this article, I solve the puzzle and theorize about the interactive effects of elections and selections on parties’ behavior. I argue that the effect of candidate selections depends on the electoral environment within which they operate. Specifically, in an electoral environment that creates incentives for candidate-centeredness, the less restrictive the selection method a party uses, the less unified its record; whereas in an electoral environment that emphasizes party-centeredness, the effect of selections on unity is more muted. Using the electoral reform and divergent selection mechanisms characterizing Israel during the last three decades and utilizing Rice Scores, I provide support for the conditional effect of electoral systems and selection procedures on party behavior.

scholarly journals Primaries Through the Looking Glass: The Electoral Effects of Opening the Selection of Top Candidates

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Javier Astudillo ◽  
Ignacio Lago
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
Primary Election ◽  
Selection Mechanisms ◽  
Regional Elections ◽  
Election Polls ◽  
Looking Glass ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract This article revisits the foundations of prior research on the effects of plebiscitarian selection mechanisms on candidates' electoral strength. While previous studies do not nest political parties' decision making, the authors argue that party primary effects entail the interdependence of party procedures for candidate selection. The article assesses the validity of the two approaches. Using original data from seven parties and 296 regional elections in Canada, Germany and Spain, and from sixty-two pre-election polls in Germany and Spain, it shows that, other things equal, primary-selected candidates are not stronger than those selected by other procedures. However, there is evidence of a penalty for parties that do not select candidates by primary when their main rival does, in particular when the primary election is not divisive and is held closer to the general election.

Women in Political Parties

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Morgan ◽  
Magda Hinojosa
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Gender Issues ◽  
State Funding ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Selection Procedures ◽  
Female Candidates ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
Organizational Ties

Jana Morgan and Magda Hinojosa examine women’s representation within parties as leaders, candidates, and officeholders and find that these positions are increasingly accessible to women. They argue that candidate selection procedures are important for women’s presence within parties, while gender quotas and ideology matter less than we might expect. They also evaluate whether parties advocate for women’s issues or employ strategies to articulate women’s concerns. They find that even as descriptive representation has advanced, parties rarely offer substantive linkages for women. As a result, women are less likely to identify with parties than men. To improve women’s descriptive representation in parties, they argue for better candidate selection processes, candidate training programs, and increased state funding for female candidates. To advance substantive representation, they advocate for parties to craft policy and organizational ties with women and to align gender issues with existing partisan divides, thereby integrating rather than isolating gender issues.

scholarly journals Candidate Selection and the Electoral Prospects of the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) In Nigeria: 1999-2015

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-93
Author(s):  
Alfa Patrick Innocent ◽  
Otaida Eikojonwa
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Federal Republic ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
The Other ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Selection Procedures ◽  
Opposition Party ◽  
Secondary Method

Objective: The essence of this article is to examine the centrality of candidate selection in the changes in the electoral fortunes of the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria from 1999 to 2015.Methodology: This paper is qualitative and conceptual in nature. The issues were analysed under various related themes. The data were gathered through the secondary method such as textbooks, journal articles, reports of election observer teams, party constitutions, workshop papers, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) documents, the Electoral Acts and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The analysis of the information gathered helped to manifest the factors that were responsible for the electoral setbacks suffered by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which led to the triumph of the hitherto opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 general elections.Results: The paper discovered that interferences and manipulation in the candidate selection procedures in particular and gross disregard for internal party democracy in the Peoples' Democratic Party led to its electoral misfortunes in the 2015 elections.Implication: The paper avers that political parties are fundamental elements in any democratic setting, but for them to retain and boost their electoral chances they must adopt a transparent candidate selection process and adhere to the other tenets of internal party democracy.

scholarly journals When do parties put Europe in the centre? Evidence from the 2019 European Parliament election campaign

Politics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 026339572110083
Author(s):  
Michaela Maier ◽  
Carlos Jalali ◽  
Jürgen Maier ◽  
Alessandro Nai ◽  
Sebastian Stier
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
National Level ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Integrated Model ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Media ◽  
Opposition Parties

European elections have been described as second-order phenomena for voters, the media, but also parties. Yet, since 2009, there exists evidence that not only voters, but also political parties assign increasing significance to European elections. While initially ‘issue entrepreneurs’ were held responsible for this development, the latest campaigns have raised the question of whether mainstream parties are finally also campaigning on European issues. In this article, we examine European Union (EU) salience in the 2019 European Parliament (EP) campaigns of government and opposition parties and the predictors of their strategic behaviours. We test the relevance of factors derived from the selective emphasis and the co-orientation approach within an integrated model of strategic campaign communication based on expert evaluations of 191 parties in 28 EU member states. Results show that the traditional expectation that government parties silence EU issues does not hold anymore; instead, the average EU salience of government and opposition parties is similar on the national level. The strongest predictors for a party’s decision to campaign on EU issues are the co-orientation towards the campaign agendas of competing parties, and party’s EU position.

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