POLI107 week 7 reading 3 - Scarrow 2023Parties and party systems

Flashcards based on lecture notes about party membership in contemporary democracies.

Role of Elite and Grassroots Organizations in Political Parties

Elected officials dominate the party's legislative and electoral affairs, while membership organizations help with electoral mobilization and sometimes with key party decisions.

Membership-Based Associations

The idea that parties should be organized as membership-based associations is firmly rooted around the world in democracies of all ages and institutional configurations.

Prevalence of Membership-Based Parties

Parties that provide for dues-paying members in their statutes.

Reasons for differences in party membership

Differing decisions about how to construct party membership and contextual forces that shape the perceived meaning and value of party membership.

Membership Costs

Financial, procedural, or reputational costs associated with joining and maintaining party membership.

Financial requirement to acquire and maintain party membership

Minimal, at least for low-income supporters

Easy Method to Join A Party

Filling out an enrollment form and paying using the national party website.

Difficult Method to Join A Party

Imposing long probationary periods or requiring applicants to obtain recommendation letters from existing members.

Benefits of Party Membership

Selective benefits paid to individual members, such as privileged access to government services.

Parties with the most expansive membership definitions

Organized similar to fan clubs, often assembled to support a charismatic leader.

Clientelistic parties

Offer their members higher obvious selective benefits while imposing higher financial or procedural tests in order to monitor that members are living up to their part of the bargain.

Plebiscitarian parties

Offer members collective benefits by giving them a say in important party decisions, but they may then impose stiffer membership tests.

Changing Membership Basis

The basis of membership may change as a party adopts new organizational strategies, possibly in response to electoral losses.

Multi-speed membership options

Online-only membership, non-voting ‘membership-lite’ status with reduced dues, registered ‘party friends’, or financial supporters

Decline of Party Memberships

Since the 1990s, overall party membership has been declining in both absolute and relative terms in the Western European parliamentary democracies

Global Scale of Party Members

Self-identified party members as per cent of respondents of World Values Survey Wave 7 (2017–2020)

Legitimacy benefits to maintain and improve membership levels

To enhance its electoral credibility by demonstrating a healthy level of internal activity

Electoral benefits to maintain and improve membership levels

Members constitute a reliable core of loyal voters and the more a party has, the greater its ‘core’ vote

Outreach benefits to maintain and improve membership levels

Members might act as ‘ambassadors’ for the party in the local community, arguing their case in social situations where talk of politics arises

Labour benefits to maintain and improve membership levels

Party members can bring a great deal of necessary voluntary work during an election campaign

Policy ideas as benefits to maintain and improve membership levels

Parties which take internal democracy seriously might regard members as a potentially valuable source of policy ideas.

Linkage benefits to maintain and improve membership levels

Members can also act as a source of information about public concerns and so provide linkage benefits.

Personnel benefits to maintain and improve membership levels

The members play as a source of party candidates for public office

Financial benefit to maintain and improve membership levels

Members can be a source of financial benefit to parties.

Costs to maintain and improve membership levels

A widespread perception that grassroots members are inclined to see themselves as keepers of the flame of ideological purity.

John May’s well known ‘law of curvilinear disparity’

Different strata within political parties have different incentives and motives

Theory of the incentives and costs that influence the decisions of individual to join parties

The General Incentives Model

Three types of incentives Clark and Wilson distinguished

Purposive, material, and solidary.

Purposive incentives

Connected with the stated goals of an organisation

Material incentives

Reflect the desire to achieve tangible personal material rewards

Solidary incentives

Relate to the satisfaction derived from the process of participation, including sociability and camaraderie

Sense of group efficacy

The individual’s perception of the probability that participation in group activity through the party will achieve a desired collective outcome

Policy outcome

The individual’s desired collective policy outcome, such as the introduction of a particular policy.

Selective outcome benefits of activism

The individual’s assessment of the selective outcome benefits of activism; that is, material or career benefits.

Selective process benefits of activism

The individual’s assessment of the selective process benefits of activism; that is, the intrinsic pleasure derived from involvement in political action.

Altruistic Activism Motivations

The individual’s altruistic motivations for activism.

Social norm incentives for activism

The individual’s perception of social norm incentives for activism; that is, the desire to con- form to the behaviour and expectations of personal contacts.

Expressive or affective motivations for activism

The individual’s expressive or affective motivations for activism, such as the strength of com- mitment to or identification with a given party or leader.

Cost of activism

The individual’s perception of the costs of activism; properly speaking, this is a disincentive.

Personal efficacy

The individual’s belief that individual acts can influence and have a real impact upon politi- cal decision; that is, the respondent’ sense of personal efficacy.

Ideological motivations for activism

The individual’s ideological motivations for activism.

Reasons why people leave parties once they have joined

The same ideological factors that once motivated people to join up, may also play a large part in driving them to leave the same parties.

British Labour Party

Emergence of Tony Blair at the helm of the party succeeded in attracting many moderate and centrist supporters to the party.

Activism among party members

Studies consistently show that only a minority of party members and supporters are truly active.

Activities that members engage in

Displaying posters, leafleting households, attending party meetings and election hustings, canvassing potential supporters, mobilising identified support on election day, running party committees, standing for party offices and public office, contributing financially, and engaging in fund-raising activities.

Levels of activism among party members

Ideological incentives motivate people not only to join parties but also to be active on their behalf.