GO 259 Unit 4: GLM Ch. 10 Parties

Mass party

Classic mid-20th century party.

Characteristics:

• huge memberships

• strong local branches

• embedded in social life

• tied to unions/churches/subcultures

Examples:

• socialist parties

• Christian Democratic parties

Professionalized party

Instead of mass activists,
parties increasingly rely on:

• consultants

• media experts

• centralized campaigns

• professional staff

Politics becomes:

media-centered.

This is one of the major transformations in modern European politics.

Party subcultures

Parties used to be:

“ways of life.”

They had:

• newspapers

• clubs

• unions

• youth groups

• social activities

Politics was socially embedded.

This resembles:

pillarization.

Interest aggregation

is the process through which political parties combine diverse social interests and demands into coherent policy platforms and political programs, helping structure political competition and governability.

1. Parties combine diverse preferences into coherent platforms/manifestos.

2. They simplify politics for voters by packaging issues into “bundles,” enabling collective choice.

3. This also supports governability: governments can follow party programs rather than every politician acting independently.

Bridge idea: These functions are why parties remain essential even when membership and trust decline.

Party in public office

1. Parliamentary party (MPs as a collective body).

2. MPs are crucial because parties exist to win seats and govern; public office often shifts power upward.

Party in central office

1. Party headquarters and staff: manage media, strategy, funding, messaging, national organization.

2. Tension: centralized professionals vs local activists.

Party on the ground

1. Local branches: foundational unit; local presence supports mobilization and community-level ties.

2. Functions: campaign work, membership maintenance, local candidate support, sometimes policy discussion input.

Factions

Internal competing groups.

Can be:

• ideological

• regional

• personality-based

Factions can:

• weaken unity
  OR

• channel conflict internally instead of splitting parties

Candidate selection

A huge power lever.

Central tension:

local autonomy vs central control.

Local branches want:

• local fit

National leadership wants:

• message discipline

• diversity

• electoral strategy

This strongly affects:

• representation

• party cohesion

• women/minority inclusion

Leader selection

European parties increasingly experimented with:

democratized leader selection.

Examples:

• membership ballots

• congress voting

• hybrid systems

Goal:
increase legitimacy.

BUT:
can also create:

• populist insurgencies

• instability

• MP/member conflict

This is very contemporary.

Party membership decline

Reasons:

• welfare state reduced dependence on party networks

• TV/media replaced local campaigning

• secularization weakened identities

• individualism increased

• NGOs/social movements emerged

• distrust/cynicism toward parties grew

So: parties became less socially rooted.