The Changing American Voter.

Political change in britain

Explaining ideological conflict has always been a classic theme of studies of party organizations. The aim of this paper is to re-examine May's law, based on rational choice theory, which suggests ...

May's Law of Curvilinear Disparity Revisited Leaders, Officers, Members and Voters in British Political Parties

. Probably the most famous dictum about parties' internal structures is Robert Michels' ‘iron law of oligarchy’. Over the past two decades, however, the societal context within which parties are embedded has begun to change which may alter the psychological premise upon which Michels’ law is based. More specifically, we hypothesize that New Politics proponents within established parties are disproportionately likely to rely on cues from local party branches, instead of leadership cues, in forming issue positions on intra-party controversies. Accordingly, this paper analyzes the influence of New Politics issues on the leadership-constituency views of party delegates within fifty-two West European parties. In addition, we analyze the relative contribution of party ideology and party structures to the evolution of mean party support for NP policies and constituency orientations. The data base for this paper is a unique study of convention delegates conducted in all major West European parties, and a study of party characteristics. We find that New Politics supporters, especially within socialist parties, are predisposed to emphasize the representation of their local party constituency, in case the views of local party branches and a party's national leadership clash. We assess the implications of this research for parties and party theories, especially Michels' law.

How iron is the iron law of oligarchy

This essay reads the oratory and policy platforms presented at the 2004 presidential nominating conventions as markers of U.S. national identity. The analysis reveals that Democrats present a complicated, nuanced vision of U.S. national identity, a vision premised upon the toleration and celebration of difference and a value of equality. Republicans, conversely, articulated a more straightforward sense of national identity that was convinced of American superiority, suspicious of government involvement in economic matters, and ultimately guided by a responsibility to protect long-standing values. The essay concludes with a call to reexamine even the most banal and mundane campaign discourse for its capacity to express national values and a sense of U.S. national identity.

One Nation (Pretty Darn) Divisible: National Identity in the 2004 Conventions

Commentators, especially since the Democratic party reforms following 1968, have expressed serious concerns about the role of party activists in the American political system. Have they become so concerned with ideological purity that they are unable to nominate strong candidates? Are activists loyal only to particular interest groups, with little concern for the parties as institutions? Are the reformed nominating procedures open to takeover by new activists, who exit the party immediately after the presidential nominations fight? With such an unrepresentative set of activists, can parties adjust to changing environments?Based on a survey of more than 17,000 delegates to state presidential nominating conventions in eleven states in 1980, this pathbreaking book addresses these questions in a comprehensive way for the first time. Heretofore most of the generalizations about party activists in the presidential nomination process have been based on studies of national convention delegates, in particular those attending the 1972 conventions. But those delegates were atypical activists, as this book shows. The state of the activist stratum of the parties differs from what many of the critics have suggested.

The Life of the Parties: Activists in Presidential Politics

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The Life of the Parties: Activists in Presidential Politics