Political Parties and Interest Incorporation: A New Typology of Intra-Party Groups

Abstract

Linking society and politics has been one of political parties’ key functions in democracies around the world. Groups within political parties, like factions, auxiliary organisations and territorial party branches, have been important for parties to build such linkages because they help incorporate voters’, members’ and elites’ interests. However, although intra-party groups have figured prominently in many studies, scholars often encountered difficulties when seeking to distinguish between them. Missing conceptual clarity is consequential because it has made communicating results across studies difficult and thus posed an obstacle to accumulating knowledge. This review brings together the literature on factionalism and party organisation to enhance conceptual clarity. Groups’ organisational pervasiveness and flexibility allow distinguishing between factions, camps, auxiliary organisations and party branches. The article ends with suggestions for how to put the typology to work.