Membership in Ukraine’s political parties: membership crisis or crisis of the party model?

Abstract

The characteristics of political parties of Ukraine and democratic countries in relation to the level of membership have been considered; its low level has been stated. In Ukraine, the formation of political parties was carried out in accordance with the model of “mass political party”, formulated by M. Duverger. Accordingly, regulations on political parties clearly define the requirements for formal membership. The main versions of the information on the number of members of political parties in Ukraine have been analyzed; its secrecy and impossibility of verification have been emphasized. On the basis of interviews with party activists of Lviv region, the parameters of membership in regional party branches have been determined. The influence of a number of factors on the involvement of non-party employees in party organizations has been clarified and their role in the work of party structures has been outlined. It has been proved that the low level of membership in regional centers is evidence of the crisis of the mass party model. It has been also proposed to consider as an indicator of this crisis the attempts to form a network party model by a number of newly created parties in Ukraine.