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Palgrave Macmillan

Political Party Membership in New Democracies

Electoral Rules in Central and East Europe

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

Authors:
  1. Alison F. Smith

    1. Political Developments, Landsmeer, The Netherlands

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  • Contributes to the scholarly understanding of political party development in Central and East Europe
  • Provides a detailed analysis of campaigning tactics and strategies
  • Explores how electoral rules shape party membership in young democracies

Part of the book series: St Antony's Series (STANTS)

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. Parties and Members in the Twenty-First Century

    • Alison F. Smith
    Pages 1-22

  3. Electoral Institutions and Party Membership

    • Alison F. Smith
    Pages 23-55

  4. The Role of Party Members in Estonia

    • Alison F. Smith
    Pages 57-85

  5. The Role of Party Members in Lithuania

    • Alison F. Smith
    Pages 87-116

  6. The Role of Party Members in the Slovak Republic

    • Alison F. Smith
    Pages 117-146

  7. Electoral Systems and the Roles of Members

    • Alison F. Smith
    Pages 147-172

  8. Back Matter

    Pages 173-177
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Keywords

About this book

This book explores the impact of electoral rules on political party development in Central and East Europe. It finds that ‘high district magnitude’ proportional electoral systems encourage centralised organisational development and campaigning – where communication with voters is conducted primarily via mass, social and digital media – while small electoral districts stimulate grassroots campaigning. As a result, low magnitude electoral systems are more likely to create an active role for party members, stimulating membership recruitment. The book further examines how parties organise and campaign on the ground. The analysis of in-depth surveys and interviews with party elites in Estonia, Lithuania and Slovakia sheds light on areas of party life that are rarely examined, including party fundraising. Overall, the effects of electoral systems on party organisation and campaigning reflect patterns previously observed in Western Europe, demonstrating that a degree of convergence has occurred.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Political Developments, Landsmeer, The Netherlands

    Alison F. Smith

About the author

Alison F. Smith is a lecturer in comparative government, European politics and Russian politics. She has published several academic articles on the roles of political party members in Central and East Europe.

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