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Success and failure of political parties: causes and remedies

par Van Haute, Emilie ;Wauters, Bram;Koole, Ruud
Référence Politicologenetmaal (27-28 mai 2010: Leuven)
Publication Non publié, 2010-05-27

Communication à un colloque

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Résumé :

In the existing literature on political parties, the references to the importance of parties for democracy (Schattschneider, 1942) are as frequent as the hypotheses of their decline (Reiter, 1989). This literature emphasises the decline in support of political parties, measured by the decline in party identification (Dalton & Wattenberg 2000) and the decline in party membership in a number of European democracies (Katz & Mair, 1992; Mair & Van Biezen, 2001). However, the exact nature of the decline is debated. For some scholars, only specific faces of the party organisation are concerned (grassroots level), whereas other faces such as the party in public office even expand (Katz & Mair, 2001). For other scholars, only certain functions performed by the parties are challenged by the societal transformations, whereas other functions get reinforced (governmental and procedural, see Bartolini & Mair, 2001). More specifically, the literature points out the decline of the linkage function (participation and representation) of parties (Katz, 1990; Heidar & Saglie, 2003; Pedersen, 2003; Poguntke, 2002). The literature also focuses on the possible remedies to these challenges to political parties, such as the emergence of new types of parties, or intra-party reforms (Scarrow, 1999; Rahat, 2005). In this workshop we are interested in papers addressing the issue of the decline or crisis of parties and possible remedies. To this end, we invite two types of paper proposals. First, we welcome papers discussing (either rejecting or confirming) the idea of a crisis or decline at the macro level (emergence of alternative forms of participation and representation), meso level (intra-party conflicts, centralisation, presidentialisation, and professionalisation) or micro level (party membership, party identification). Second, we encourage papers dealing with the possible remedies to the decline of parties: new types of parties, intra-party reforms and democratisation, etc. Papers may adopt theoretical as well as empirical perspectives, and adopt different methodologies. Comparative papers are strongly encouraged although nation case-studies are also considered.