Political Party Membership in New Democracies

Electoral Rules in Central and East Europe

verfasst von: Dr. Alison F. Smith

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : St Antony's Series

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

This book explores the impact of electoral rules on political party development in Central and East Europe. It finds that ‘high district magnitude’ proportional electoral systems encourage centralised organisational development and campaigning – where communication with voters is conducted primarily via mass, social and digital media – while small electoral districts stimulate grassroots campaigning. As a result, low magnitude electoral systems are more likely to create an active role for party members, stimulating membership recruitment. The book further examines how parties organise and campaign on the ground. The analysis of in-depth surveys and interviews with party elites in Estonia, Lithuania and Slovakia sheds light on areas of party life that are rarely examined, including party fundraising. Overall, the effects of electoral systems on party organisation and campaigning reflect patterns previously observed in Western Europe, demonstrating that a degree of convergence has occurred.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Parties and Members in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

Party membership plays a crucial role in party system institutionalisation. However, political party membership is often considered to be a declining phenomenon (Mair & van Biezen, Party Politics, 7(1): 5–21, 2001; van Biezen, Mair, & Poguntke, European Journal of Political Research, 51(1) 24–56, 2012). In the new democracies of central and east Europe, the decreasing value of members, combined with post-communist legacies and the availability of state subsidies, was expected to hinder the development of membership parties (van Biezen, Political Parties in New Democracies: Party Organization in Southern and East-Central Europe, 2003; Kopecký, Political Parties and the State in Post-Communist Europe, 2008). Yet, three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, considerable variation in party membership levels exists in post-communist democracies. This chapter reviews the literature on party membership and electoral systems, and concludes that there is a lack of research on how electoral rules shape party membership in young democracies.

Alison F. Smith

Chapter 2. Electoral Institutions and Party Membership

Abstract

This chapter presents membership data from political parties across 11 central and east European countries. Using data from the European Values Survey and Eurequal, it then examines the relationship between political party membership and three institutions thought to influence membership levels: state funding, regime type and electoral systems. State subsidies and regime type do not appear to influence membership levels; however, higher district magnitudes appear to be correlated with lower party membership levels. In order to explore potential causal links between electoral systems and party membership, a series of sub-hypotheses about the impact of district magnitude on the roles of party members are developed from the extant literature. These will be tested in the case studies presented in Chaps. 3, 4 and 5.

Alison F. Smith

Chapter 3. The Role of Party Members in Estonia

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of party members in Estonia. Surveys and interviews were used to gather information about the roles of members in the Reform Party and the Estonian Social Democrats. Using this data, the sub-hypotheses on the effect of electoral systems on party membership developed in Chap. 2 are tested. It is found that Estonian party members are valued as ambassadors in the community, as grassroots campaigners and for expanding the recruiting pool for candidates, especially at the municipal level. The ‘ambassadorial’ role of members was valued by individual candidates as a way to compete against their co-partisans while avoiding open competition. Municipal elections also appeared to stimulate organisational development.

Alison F. Smith

Chapter 4. The Role of Party Members in Lithuania

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of party members in Lithuania. Surveys and interviews were used to gather information about the roles of party members in the Homeland Union—Lithuanian Christian Democrats and the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party. Using this data, the sub-hypotheses developed in Chap. 2 are tested. It is found that Lithuania’s single member districts encourage candidate-centred campaigning, with parties’ efforts ‘targeted’ towards the specific districts where parties have the greatest chances of success. Grassroots campaigning strategies were adopted at the district level during parliamentary campaigns, and also during municipal campaigns. Lithuania’s 72-hour ‘silence period’ also increased the value of members as ‘ambassadors in the community’ and ‘loyal and reliable voters’.

Alison F. Smith

Chapter 5. The Role of Party Members in the Slovak Republic

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of party members in the Slovak Republic. Surveys and interviews were used to gather information about the roles of party members in SMER—Social Democracy and the (now defunct) Social and Democratic Christian Union—Democratic Party. Using this data, the sub-hypotheses developed in Chap. 2 are tested. It is found that Slovakia’s high magnitude proportional electoral system encourages parties to communicate with voters primarily through mass, social and digital media. Grassroots campaigning is more likely to occur in advance of municipal elections; however, parties from the fragmented centre-right struggled to establish a significant presence outside the major cities. The success of ‘micro-parties’ prompted elites from existing parties to consider whether members were necessary for modern campaigning.

Alison F. Smith

Chapter 6. Electoral Systems and the Roles of Members

Abstract

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.

Alison F. Smith

Backmatter

Titel: Political Party Membership in New Democracies
verfasst von: Dr. Alison F. Smith
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-41796-3
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-41795-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41796-3