Book
Mot medlemslösa partier. Partiföreträdare om orsaker, konsekvenser och strategier kring en svikande medlemskår
2011Karlsson, M., & Lundberg, E.Stockholm: Sektor 3, Tankesmedjan för det civila samhället
What is this study about?
The study examines how representatives of Swedish political parties view the long-term decline in party membership. The focus lies on three questions: how the parties themselves explain the membership decline, what consequences they believe it has for the parties' activities and democratic function, and what strategies they use to meet this development. The study thus provides an organisational perspective on changed forms of political engagement.
What did we find?
How do the parties themselves view the development towards ever fewer members? The study shows that the membership decline is perceived as an important change, but not necessarily as an immediate threat to the parties' ability to function. The members still have important tasks for, among other things, anchoring, recruitment and the parties' internal activities. At the same time, the parties try both to recruit and retain members and to adapt their organisations to a situation in which traditional membership engages a smaller share of the population.
Why does it matter?
Political parties are central links between citizens and representative democracy, and membership has traditionally been an important part of this connection. As membership bases shrink, questions about political recruitment, internal party democracy and the parties' anchoring among citizens are therefore brought into focus. The study shows that the democratic consequences of membership decline are not only determined by how many members the parties lose, but also by how the parties change their organisations and develop other forms for the relationship with citizens.
Citation
Karlsson, M., & Lundberg, E. (2011) Mot medlemslösa partier. Partiföreträdare om orsaker, konsekvenser och strategier kring en svikande medlemskår. Stockholm: Sektor 3, Tankesmedjan för det civila samhället
Research area
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