par Van Haute, Emilie
Référence Canadian Political Science Association Annual Conference (27-29 mai 2009: Ottawa)
Publication Non publié, 2009-05-28
Communication à un colloque
Résumé : This paper focuses on discontent among party members. Taking Belgium as a case-study, the paper investigates two dimensions of discontent: the sense of external political efficacy and the level of specific support. The analysis emphasizes the positive impact of both extra- and intra-party socialization on the sense of external efficacy, but also to a lesser extent on the level of specific support. Moreover, the results confirm that discontent is an interesting alternative to the existing explanatory models of intra-party activism. The level of intra-party activism is determined by the members’ perception of external political efficacy, whereas the nature of intra-party participation (allegiant vs. challenging) is associated with the level of specific support. The combination of external political efficacy and specific support thereby generates different types of participation in the party. More generally, the paper shows that by distancing themselves from civil society, parties might decrease the sense of external efficacy of their members, but also their level of specific support, and thereby reinforce apathetic alienation among party members.