Implementing Democratic Equality in Political Parties: Organisational Consequences in the Swedish and the German Pirate Parties

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  • Nicole Bolleyer
  • Felix-Christopher von Nostitz
  • Conor Little
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.
Original languageEnglish
Article number3
JournalScandinavian Political Studies
Volume38
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)158-178
Number of pages21
ISSN1467-9477
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2015

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