6. Electoral Systems and the Roles of Members

This chapter compares the roles that members play in party life in Estonia, Lithuania and Slovakia. It finds that members are more likely to be involved actively in campaigning in the two countries with low district magnitudes, Estonia and Lithuania. In Slovakia, where the district magnitude is high, mass communications were deemed a more efficient way of reaching voters. These findings show how electoral boundaries shape parties’ organisational development, how they compete with their opponents and communicate with voters. Non-institutional factors influencing organisational development, including culture and competitive dynamics, are also discussed, alongside the influence of other institutional factors such as state subsidies and directly elected presidencies.