Expelling controversies: assessing the effectiveness of party expulsion procedures to resolve internal conflicts

Abstract

ABSTRACT Intra-party conflicts are a constant challenge for political parties, involving both personal and political aspects. Notably, expulsion procedures are initiated against members involved in these conflicts as a means of resolution. However, the question arises whether expulsion procedures are an effective approach to addressing internal conflicts. This paper aims to examine the practice and effectiveness of expulsion procedures as a mechanism for resolving intra-party conflicts. The study focuses on Germany, where parties and expulsions are strictly regulated by law, and uses a case study approach including three cases from different contexts of intra-party conflict in recent years: Max Otte and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Boris Palmer and the Greens and Sahra Wagenknecht and the Left Party. Unresolved conflicts can have serious consequences, potentially even destabilising or dismantling the parties. Therefore, effective conflict resolution mechanisms are crucial to ensure internal functioning and cohesion and need to be systematically analysed. However, political science literature has so far barely addressed the issue of party expulsions. The study will show that, in many scenarios, expulsion procedures often fail to resolve internal conflicts and that conflicts involving larger groups, such as factions, tend to persist or intensify even after expulsion procedures have been initiated.