Implementing Democratic Equality in Political Parties: Organisational Consequences in the Swedish and the German Pirate Parties
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Implementing Democratic Equality in Political Parties : Organisational Consequences in the Swedish and the German Pirate Parties. / Bolleyer, Nicole; von Nostitz, Felix-Christopher; Little, Conor.
In: Scandinavian Political Studies, Vol. 38, No. 2, 3, 01.06.2015, p. 158-178.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Implementing Democratic Equality in Political Parties
T2 - Organisational Consequences in the Swedish and the German Pirate Parties
AU - Bolleyer, Nicole
AU - von Nostitz, Felix-Christopher
AU - Little, Conor
PY - 2015/6/1
Y1 - 2015/6/1
N2 - This article theorises and empirically assesses some important intra-organisational implications of maximising democratic equality in political parties both between followers and members and between members and elites. They include weak member commitment, passivity of the rank-and-file membership and – depending on party structure – high levels of internal conflict. To substantiate the arguments, two parties that implement principles of democratic equality in their organisations are examined: the Swedish and German Pirate parties. These cases show, first, that while organisational structures implementing norms of equality allowed them to rapidly mobilise a considerable following, the same structures systematically reduced their capacity to consolidate support in the longer term – a weakness that might eventually put these parties' survival at risk. Second, they show that differences in the extent to which subnational units provide a foundation for member mobilisation helps to explain variation in the level of internal conflict experienced by these parties.
AB - This article theorises and empirically assesses some important intra-organisational implications of maximising democratic equality in political parties both between followers and members and between members and elites. They include weak member commitment, passivity of the rank-and-file membership and – depending on party structure – high levels of internal conflict. To substantiate the arguments, two parties that implement principles of democratic equality in their organisations are examined: the Swedish and German Pirate parties. These cases show, first, that while organisational structures implementing norms of equality allowed them to rapidly mobilise a considerable following, the same structures systematically reduced their capacity to consolidate support in the longer term – a weakness that might eventually put these parties' survival at risk. Second, they show that differences in the extent to which subnational units provide a foundation for member mobilisation helps to explain variation in the level of internal conflict experienced by these parties.
KW - Faculty of Social Sciences
KW - equality
KW - political parties
KW - democracy
KW - organizational structure
KW - intraorganizational mobility
KW - pluralism
KW - Sweden
U2 - 10.1111/1467-9477.12044
DO - 10.1111/1467-9477.12044
M3 - Journal article
VL - 38
SP - 158
EP - 178
JO - Scandinavian Political Studies
JF - Scandinavian Political Studies
SN - 0080-6757
IS - 2
M1 - 3
ER -
ID: 135552294