Peer-reviewed article
Motstrategier eller undanmanövrar? Svenska partiorganisationer i skuggan av en negativ medlemsutveckling
2013Karlsson, M., & Lundberg, E.Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration
What is this study about?
The study examines how Swedish political parties relate to the long-term decline in party membership. The focus is on the parties' organisational reactions: do they actively try to reverse the membership trend by recruiting and retaining more members, or do they instead adapt their organisation and working methods to a situation where fewer people choose to become party members? The study thereby directs attention to how parties themselves manage changing forms of political engagement.
What did we find?
How do parties react when their membership base shrinks? The study shows that party organisations use different strategies to manage this development. While member recruitment is still regarded as important, an organisational adaptation is also taking place to a society where traditional party membership has become less common. The parties thus try both to counteract the membership decline and to develop working methods that make them less dependent on large membership organisations.
Why does it matter?
Political parties have a central role as a link between citizens and the institutions of representative democracy. When fewer people are party members, it therefore changes not only the parties' internal organisation but potentially also how citizens gain influence, how politicians are recruited and how parties are anchored in society. The study shows that the democratic significance of the membership decline therefore also depends on how the parties themselves react to it and which new forms of participation and organising develop.
Citation
Karlsson, M., & Lundberg, E. (2013) Motstrategier eller undanmanövrar? Svenska partiorganisationer i skuggan av en negativ medlemsutveckling. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration 17(4) 49–70
Research area
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