Abstract
This article considers four recent party members' ballots. This article argues that elite motivations for consulting party members are akin to those applied to national referendums. This reading differs from existing explanations, which link party ballots to efforts to broaden a party's appeal or diminish the influence of activists on policy formation. This paper analyses votes on the new European constitution in Denmark and France and party ballots on peace initiatives in Israel and northern Cyprus. It argues that these votes were concerned primarily with resolving tensions within parties, often produced by a prior decision to stage a national referendum. It also reveals that elites view party ballots as a means of ensuring their party's support for key initiatives, and that referendums can be called out of a desire to enhance the standing of the party leader.
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