Footsoldiers Political Party Membership In The 21st Century

This accessible, rigorously researched and highly revealing book lifts the lid on political party membership. It represents the first in-depth study of six of the UK's biggest parties – Labour, the Conservatives, the Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrats, UK Independence Party and the Greens – carried out simultaneously, thereby providing invaluable new insights into members' social characteristics, attitudes, activities and campaigning, reasons for joining and leaving, and views on how their parties should be run and who should represent them. In short, at a time of great pressure on, and change across parties, this book helps us discover not only what members want out of their parties but what parties want out of their members. This text is essential reading for those interested in political parties, party membership, elections and campaigning, representation, and political participation, be they scholars and students of British and comparative politics, or politicians, journalists and party members – in short, anyone who cares about the future of representative democracy.

The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties provides a systematic and comprehensive overview of the study of political parties provided by leading experts in the field. In an era of widespread political disillusionment, political parties are often the main targets of citizen dissatisfaction, yet they are the key institutions that make democracy work. Analysing political parties in unrivalled depth and breath, with comparative thematic chapters throughout, as well as a dedicated section on political parties and party politics in specific country and regional settings, this handbook examines and illuminates the key questions around: how parties organise; how their ideologies have evolved over time; their relationship with society; how they differentiate themselves and how they respond to new social, economic, and political developments. The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties is essential reading and an authoritative reference for scholars, students, researchers and practitioners involved in and actively concerned about research in the study of political parties, party systems, and party politics.

This book explores the varying ways in which political parties in Europe make arguably their most important decisions: the selection of their leaders. The choice shapes the representation of a party externally. It also influences the management of internal conflict, because there will always be some disagreement about the party’s direction. The rules of selection will naturally affect the outcome. Yet there is more to it than rules. Sometimes the process is open and fiercely contested. Sometimes the field of potential leaders is filtered even before the decision reaches the selectorate – the organ that, according to party statutes, formally makes the appointment. The selectorate might have only a single candidate to ratify, a so-called ‘coronation’. The book presents a framework for analysing both the formal and informal sides of leader selection, and hones the framework through its application in a series of case studies from nine European countries.

This book provides a new analytical perspective on the strategies, membership and communication management of political parties in Poland. The authors address why some political parties have managed to strengthen and survive while others have failed to do the same. The research was carried out in the years 2016–2018, when Poland started to be seen more and more as a weakening democracy. As an in-depth, empirically grounded single-country study of party structure and communication, the book gives an opportunity to draw broader conclusions about the process of party development in the Central and Eastern Europe region three decades since the beginning of democratic transition.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of a peculiar but now firmly established British institution— the Official Opposition— tracking its development since 1935. Despite its inherent importance to the conduct of politics and government, the Official Opposition as an institution remains poorly understood. The concept of ‘Loyal Opposition’ has become so entrenched in the Westminster parliamentary model that it is now taken for granted that the principal challengers to the government of the day are given significant official recognition by the state. Political dissent has become institutionalised and legitimised. Using previously unpublished archive material and candid interviews with former Leaders of the Opposition and their staff, the book examines the constraints and dilemmas facing the Official Opposition. Detailing the way successive opposition leaders have organised their staff and Shadow Cabinets, it highlights the practical difficulties they face in holding the government to account and preparing for government. The study concludes by arguing that the role of the Official Opposition is vital but ill- defined, that the inadequacy of its resources has impacted on its effectiveness, and that there are potentially serious challenges to it as a model. The book will be of key interest to scholars of British politics, British history, parliamentary and legislative studies, and government and democracy more generally.

Political parties are central to democratic politics, but where does the power lie within them, and how is it exercised? The Political Party in Canada explores the inner workings of these complex organizations through an examination of the composition and roles of key party actors, as well as the interactions between them. The authors reveal the activities and power-sharing relationships that characterize Canadian parties. It focuses not only on which groups are included in decision-making but on what authority rests with each level of the parties’ respective structures. This comprehensive examination provides important insights into a fundamental institution that makes modern democracy possible.

The new edition of this successful book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview and account of the changing nature of party politics in Britain today. Webb and Bale draw on models of comparative politics in conducting a wealth of new empirical analysis to map and explain the ways in which the party system has evolved, and the parties have adapted to a changing political environment. Themes covered include the nature and extent of party competition, the internal life and organizational development of parties, the varieties of party system found across the UK, and the roles played by parties within the wider political system. The book also addresses the crisis of popular legitimacy confronting the parties, as well as assessing the scope for potential reform. While parties remain central to the functioning of Britain's democracy, public disaffection with them is as high as it has ever been; reform of the system of representation and party funding is warranted, but there are unlikely to be any panaceas.

Big data and microtargeting steal the headlines about campaigning. But how important are they really to the way that political parties campaign? This book provides a fine-grained account of the campaign practices of three Australian political parties. It explores how prevalent data-driven campaigning is, introduces an original theoretical framework to understand these practices, and demonstrates that there is a disconnect between what Australian voters think about these issues and the way that parties campaign in the 21st century. Drawing on 161 interviews, participant observation and original survey data, it shows that the reality of contemporary campaigning is often different to what we are led to believe.