Political Party Organizations Research Articles

Bending the Iron Law: The distribution of power within political parties

AbstractHow do political parties share power internally? We study the internal organization of political parties as the solution of a moral hazard problem between a party conference and its factions. Factions' mobilization efforts benefit the party electorally, but can only be imperfectly monitored. In contrast with the logic of Michel's Iron Law, we provide a functionalist rationale for intraparty power sharing: We show that internal power sharing can enhance a party's electoral performance. This effect is stronger in settings that award more resources to election winners: Low interparty power sharing produces high intraparty power sharing. We also show that intraparty power sharing should be more frequent within smaller parties, when monitoring of factional effort is more precise (e.g., preferential voting systems), and when factions' ideological disagreements span multiple dimensions.

THE OBLIGATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES TO SUBMIT A REPORT ON PROPERTY, INCOME, EXPENSES AND FINANCIAL LIABILITIES: NATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND EUROPEAN STANDARDS

Introduction. The article is aimed at studying the legal regulation of the obligation of political parties to submit a report on their property, income, expenses and financial liabilities. The purpose of the study is to reveal the peculiarities and identify the problematic issues of legislative regulation and practical implementation of the above obligation. To achieve this goal, the author uses such methods of scientific research as logical and semantic, formal and legal, systemic and structural, comparative and legal, etc. Summary of the main research results. The European standards for regulating the obligation of political parties to report on their financial activities are considered. Based on the analysis of European regional standards in the field of organization and functioning of political parties, the author identifies the principles of implementation of the above obligation of political parties. Attention is focused on the Ukrainian legislation which establishes the procedure for submission by political parties of a report on property, income, expenses and financial liabilities to the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption. Conclusions. The author emphasises the need to strengthen the responsibility of political parties, in particular for systematic failure to submit or untimely submission of reports on property, income, expenses and financial liabilities.

Analysis of Elite Contestation and Political Base of the GOLKAR Party during the 2014-2016 Joko Widodo Administration

This study aims to examine the elite contestation and political base of the GOLKAR Party during the 2014-2016 Joko Widodo administration. From this analysis, the following novelties are observed. Firstly, elite contestation often evaluates the power struggle only, although it is presently analyzed with its socio-political base. Secondly, the existing study of elite cooperation and competition prioritizes the experience of liberal democracies in the Western tradition, requiring elite autonomy from the state. In this case, the elites in the GOLKAR competition and cooperation are interrelated with the state. Thirdly, elite theory is presently used with contestation in political party organizations despite relevant implementation not being performed after tracing and exploring bibliometrics with the VOSviewer application. These three studies show that only strong party institutions and elite adaptation are required in the new system during a political transition. In the qualitative study, the elites successfully build networks and cooperate with government elites and organizations, which also possess the popularity, leadership, reputation, and capital to succeed in contestation using quantitative data.

Urgensi Media Komunikasi Internal dan Eksternal Pada Partai Lokal di Aceh Besar

This research is aimed at describing how the understanding and application of internal and external media organizational communication ethics of Acehnese local political parties ahead of the 2024 general election. The character, style and pattern of communication within political party organizations have undergone significant changes. This is due to globalization, the information technology revolution has provided hardware or media hardware and software which can be in the form of values, methods, culture adapted by organizational communication actors. So that the members of the organization become more free, democratic and egalitarian. Currently there are almost no political, business and other organizations that can exist without the use of digital media. It is even predicted that in the future it will become more massive and integrative on high-tech or high-tech devices. However, organizational communication through media without being based on ethics can damage all communication arrangements, both internal and external. The method used in this research is a literature study. The results of the study show that the understanding and application of organizational communication ethics through Aceh's local political parties both internally and externally is still weak. So that literacy is needed regarding ethics, organizational communication ethics including media literacy which is one of the supporting tools to help educate the management and members of organizations including the public in political life.

Parties vs. partisans: the real contest about what memes mean in election campaigns

ABSTRACT This article examines the different use of internet memes between political party organisations and partisan spaces. We analyse the relationship between organisational logics and memes as a genre characterised by participation. We conduct a mixed-methods analysis of the internet memes posted by five Australian political parties, their youth branches, and partisan meme spaces during the 2022 Australian federal election. We identify three styles of memetic content created by political parties and partisans: professional, generic, and participatory. We argue that these different kinds of meme each relate to particular organisational logics, with the hierarchical structures of professional election campaigns largely hollowing out the participatory potential of internet memes in both production and form.

Legal characteristics of subjects of public control in the field of health care

Problem setting. The issue of powers of subjects of public control in the field of health care is insufficiently developed in the scientific literature. Therefore, in the conditions of growing importance of public control in all spheres of public life, including in the field of health care, this issue becomes especially relevant. After all, the quality of such control in the field that is investigated in this scientific work directly depends on the effectiveness of the activities of these subjects. The scientific article is devoted to the scientific and theoretical analysis of subjects of public control in the field of health care. Analysis of recent researches and publications. Regarding the scientific approach to the definition of subjects of public control, it should be noted such scientists as O.O. Borbunyuk, A.S. Krupnyk, O.I. Nevmerzhynskyi, S.A. Kosinov, who made a significant scientific contribution. They included individual citizens and their associations (organized and unorganized), public councils/colleges, political parties, trade unions, public organizations, etc. as subjects of public control. We separate these approaches and take them into account in the further research of scientific work. Purpose of the research is to study and analyze different approaches and legislation regarding the definition of a subject of public control, and to provide a legal characterization of all types of subjects of public control in order to prove how important a role they play in achieving a single goal: to ensure the effective protection of legal rights and human and citizen interests in the sphere of health care of Ukraine. Article’s main body. The author of the article analyzed the views of scientists who devoted their works to the subjects of public control and derived his own definition, according to which the subjects of public control in the field of health care should be understood as natural or legal persons who, in accordance with the norms of current legislation of Ukraine are endowed with a certain set of rights and obligations regarding the exercise of control in the specified sphere and may be participants in the relevant legal relations. In addition, each subject of public control in the field of health care is characterized, namely: powers of citizens, subjects of organized public (Public Councils), political parties, mass media, trade unions and self-organization bodies of the population. Each considered subject of public control in the field of health care plays its own, special role in ensuring the effective functioning of the health care industry of Ukraine, which is reflected in the powers granted to them in accordance with the norms of current legislation. However, it would be fair to note that the control activities of these entities are aimed at achieving a single goal: ensuring effective protection of the legal rights and interests of people and citizens in the field of health care of Ukraine. We consider it necessary to note that the powers of subjects of public control in the field of health care are not directly enshrined in any normative legal act, which negatively affects its quality and effectiveness. In addition, the mechanism for taking public opinion into account in the activities of health care entities needs additional legislative clarification. In the opposite case, a completely logical question arises about the real practical value of such control, if its results do not have significant consequences for those for whom it is carried out. Conclusions and prospects for the development. We consider it necessary to enshrine at the legislative level in the future Law of Ukraine «On Public Control» the powers and legal status of subjects of public control in the field of health care, so that they carry out their activities on a legal basis and the results of their activities have consequences for whom they are carried out.

Peran Mediasi Materialisme Pada Pengaruh Harga Diri dan Iklim Etika Terhadap Intensi Korupsi Kader Partai Politik

Corruption cases in Indonesia involving members of Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) asrepresentatives of society are still occurring. The elected DPR members come from political parties, whichare organizations where people have democracy. Previous studies have shown that self-esteem and ethicalclimate in organizations affect the intensity of corruption. In addition, materialism becomes a mediatorbetween self-esteem and corruption intentions. This research was conducted to determine the intensity ofcorruption in political party cadres from a new perspective. The data obtained from a sample of a politicalparty was then processed using a linear regression technique with the help of IBM version 22 software. Theresults show that self-esteem has an effect of -0.152 (p = 0.002) and ethical climate has an effect of-0.163 (p = 0.001) on corruption intentions. Meanwhile, materialism becomes a partial mediator ofthe influence of self-esteem on corruption intentions. Internal factors within party cadres play an essentialrole in reducing the intensity of corruption. Programs of training activities that can improve the ethical climatein political party organizations are also urgently needed, such as Politik Cerdas Berintegritas Terpadu (PCBTerpadu) organized by Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) together with political parties to realizeIndonesian politics with integrity.

Building a “party building + political thinking” model for grassroots mass organizations in China in the era of big data

Abstract Although research into big data technologies is advancing quickly, it has not yet been used for the “party building + political thinking” paradigm of grassroots mass organizations. The structure, purpose, and method of clustering analysis in data mining technology, as well as the various data types involved in clustering analysis technology, are studied in this paper after first analyzing the development status of data mining technology and the issues in the process of data mining. Secondly, we investigate the advantages of big data mining for “Party formation + Civic Affairs” at the local level, including four points, the management of grassroots party members, the education of party members, the ideological dynamics of party members and cadres, and the development of the relationship between party groups and teachers and students. Moreover, the “task assessment quantification table” from the “party building + thinking and politics” model was utilized as the data source, and cluster analysis was carried out using the k-mean technique. The percentages of the three categories of grades in the cluster assessment, which were 30%, 62%, and 8%, were found to be compatible with the percentages of the three categories of scores, which were 21%, 68%, and 11%. This study brings some reference significance to both party building and thinking and the government work of college counselors; this contributes to raising the bar for political thinking, party organization, and governance.

Local Political Parties in Austria during the COVID-19 Era: A Comparative Case Analysis

This article examines local political party organization of the SPÖ and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The practices and initiatives adopted by local political, social, and democratic party groups in two Austrian regions, a rural town in Styria and an urban district in Vienna, during the COVID-19 pandemic were examined. Using Problem-centered interviews (PCI) and group discussions as instruments for data collection, it was investigated how these parties adapted their activities to maintain engagement and support from the population in the face of unprecedented challenges. The results showed that both parties transitioned to online formats for meetings and events. Measures such as telephone assistance for emotional support, projects to support local businesses, and social measures for those in financial need were introduced to meet the urgent needs of people in the communities. Despite some challenges such as fluctuating motivation, difficulties in maintaining online engagement, ICT competencies, and dealing with personal overload, local parties demonstrated resilience and adaptability during the crisis.

Anglo-American Elements of Constitutional Organization in the Constitutional Arrangement of Bosnia and Herzegovina: An Influence on Rule of Law through Legislative Function

The current constitutional arrangement of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as model of the constitutional regulation is the result of peace agreements – Washington Peace Agreement and General Framework Agreement for the Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (so called – Dayton Peace Agreement) that were imposed under the dominant influence of the US administration. Thanks to this influence, some elements that are close to the Anglo-American legal tradition and understanding of law have been implemented in the constitutional system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as the framework model of constitutional normative regulation based, in most cases, on general legal principles and framework norms of a general nature that regulate constitutional matters in a framework way and without entering into details. This paper, at the first place, contains considerations related to model of constitutional normative regulation in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as adopted centralized model of protection of constitutionality. This model of constitutional regulation, as will be seen from the following text, is not close to European-continental legal tradition and understanding of law. Second part of this paper considers implementation principles of constitutionality and rule of law – in general through performing legislative function in the condition of American model of constitutional normative regulation in Bosnia and Herzegovina as result of imposed peace agreements. The third part contains considerations regarding organization and structure of political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their influence on legislative function in the condition of actual constitutional arrangements. The results of the research and consideration contained in this paper show that the combination of elements of constitutional arrangements and regulations that belong to the Anglo-American legal tradition and understanding of law with elements that belong to the European-continental legal tradition do not give an adequate result in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the standpoint of constitutionality and the rule of law.

Conceptual Problems of Political Parties Cadre Management in the Reform Era in Indonesia

This study describes the dynamics and practices of political party management in Indonesia after entering the reform era. The hopes for the welfare of the Indonesian people towards the existence of political parties in Indonesia have not shown significant results. Political parties are still trapped by internal interests compared to the big goal of improving the welfare of society, even the party's reputation in politics tends to decrease in society because of practices that violate the norms of decency. This study uses a qualitative method with a descriptive analysis approach From the existing data, factual problems of political parties were found. The political party cadre system is unable to build cadre capacity, there is no capacity standardization in cadre recruitment, cadre capacity shifts to financial capacity, personal motivation is still unstable and always changes when cadres have occupied legislative positions and regional heads. The organizational climate of political parties is periodic, only before elections, there is no integrated teamwork in political parties, political work in political parties still depends on the interests of cadres. The leadership role in the lower regions is not able to translate the vision, mission and policy directives of the top level leaders, the top level leadership is unable to absorb aspirations and communication from the lower level leadership. This research has a novelty that the management of political parties really needs the implementation of human capital. The human capital approach is currently still being applied to profit institutions and has never been tested in non-profit institutions, namely political party organizations. Keywords: political parties, cadre governance, reformation era, human capital, leadership

Hadhramaut Arabs in the Malay World: Features of Naturalization and Social Status

In island Southeast Asia, since the first centuries of the Muslim era, the Hadhramaut Arab diaspora has been steadily present. Arabs controlled maritime trade south of the Arabian Peninsula since pre-Islamic times. They have long traded with India, and sometimes sailed even further to their cherished goal - the Spice Islands (Moluccas). With the advent of Islam, the presence of Arabs in the ports of the Archipelago increased and was generally perceived positively: they acted as bearers and preachers of the new religion. Over time, their business contacts with the local merchant community grew stronger. The most powerful influx of Arabs to Nusantara dates back to the beginning of the 18th century. Subsequently, with the opening of the Suez Canal (1869), this process gained even greater scope. Over the years, the aliens, step by step, won a place for themselves in the field of commerce, in agriculture and shipbuilding, Islamic preaching and diplomacy, education and politics. Some of them laid the foundation for new Malay dynasties (the sultanates of Siak and Kalimantan, 18th century) or simply entered the circle close to local rulers. Since the beginning of the twentieth century Arab merchants participate in the organization of the first political parties in Indonesia. The paper briefly examines the biographies of some members of the Hadhramaut aristocracy, Sayyids and Sharifs, who took a prominent place in the cultural, economic and political life of Malaysia and Indonesia in the pre-colonial and post-colonial era.

Sartaj Aziz. Between Dreams and Realities: Some Milestones in Pakistan’s History. Karachi: Oxford University Press. 2009. Pak. Rs 595.00.

The geo-strategic location of a country gives it advantage or disadvantage in its relation with the comity of nations and addressing its domestic challenges. The vision, acumen and capacity of political leadership, however, determine the maximisation of advantages from geo-strategic location in attaining the national interests. Interplay of domestic political power, geo-strategic location and global power dynamics are aptly reflected in the political history of Pakistan as narrated in “Between Dreams and Realities”. “Between Dreams and Realities” is both an autobiography and dispassionate account of Pakistan’s chequered history as the author puts it “watched the political drama as ring side observer.” The author was actively engaged in roles, confronting formidable challenges to improve policy coordination and implementation. A sequenced political, economic, and foreign relations history of Pakistan is described illustrating turning points, milestones, and debacles in her existence as a country. The political scenario of Pakistan, marred by intermittent military takeovers, with disregard, and mutilation of the constitution, mainly served personal interests. The rulers, irrespective of whether elected or otherwise, conjoined survival of their rule with that of the country. Thereupon, usurpation of power is legitimised by engineered elections or putting in place pliable judiciary. The indiscipline in political parties, absence of vision, political inexperience, self-centered, and headlong political leaders, increased the vulnerability of parliament to complete its tenure. Weak organisation of political parties is, thus easily maneuverable to the wheeling, dealings, and gaming of ‘establishment’. This is amply visible in all military takeovers of elected governments, right from throwing of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s government to dissolution of Nawaz Sharif’s government in 1999.

Fields of contention as a prism: toward a nuanced role of parties and civil society actors in protest interactions

ABSTRACT By adopting a theory-oriented case study approach, this article complements recent debates in political sociology on movement-party interactions, parties and protest, and ‘movement parties’ by proposing a relational perspective to the study of fields of contention. We explore how organizational type, as a political party or civil society organization, and political orientation on the left-to-right spectrum affect actors’ roles in local fields of contention. We draw from network analyses conducted on an original qualitatively coded data set of co- and countermobilization. Our analysis corroborates findings that political parties are indeed highly engaged in protest activity. Yet, our relational approach reveals a more nuanced differentiation of the role of (movement) parties and the interaction of political orientation and actor type.

The Establishment of Romanian Political Parties after ’89: Appearance, Evolution and Elections

"Following the events of December ’89, all the existing structures up to that moment were dissolved and a sudden replacement of the totalitarian regime with a democratic one was made. As a result, a problematic situation was generated for the Romanian society at the same time that the idea of the need to organize free elections as a tool for the production of political institutions emerged. The difficulty came from the lack of political parties, the main prerogative of the multi-party system and the establishment of constituent democracy. Thus, the first step of the new established regime was the organization of political parties. As parts of the social corpus, the political parties, bearers of power interests, are the instruments of the principle of representativeness and indispensable factors of the functioning of democracy. For Romanian society in the ’90, political parties were (re)created in a specific context. The present study proposes an incursion into the context in which the Romanian political parties appeared and evolved immediately after the revolution. "

The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Democratic Party

This study focuses on analyzing the impact of transformational leadership on the intention to stay, as mediated through commitment. This study focuses on transformational leadership at the top level management in Democratic Party that currently led by Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono. This study employs quantitative methods with estimating techniques based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The primary data used are collected by random sampling from Democratic Party management at the central (DPP) and regional (DPP/DPC) levels. The total number of participants in this study was 304. The stages of data analysis include preliminary analysis, which includes construct validity and reliability, a goodness of fit test, and parameter estimate based on a research model in which transformational leadership is an independent variable, intention to stay is an independent variable, and commitment (commitment) is a mediating variable. The findings indicate that transformational leadership has a positive and significant impact on commitment and that commitment positively influences respondents’ intention to stay with the organization. This demonstrates the significance of transformational leadership in fostering the longevity of political parties due to its ability to improve members' willingness to stay and contribute to the organization. In the framework of political party organizations, idealized influence and inspirational motivation are the most significant roles of transformative leadership.

The Development of the Theory of Democracy and the Contribution of Seymour Martin Lipset to Political Sociology

The article is devoted to Seymour Martin Lipset, an outstanding American sociologist with Russian roots (a descendant of Jewish emigrants from the Russian Empire), in it the author recalls the history of meeting this outstanding sociologist and his meetings with him, his colleagues and friends, studying his scientific experience while attending lectures by C. M. Lipset at the University of J. Washington and participation in scientific discussions at the University of J. Mason's in Fairfax. The article is based on historical-comparative and comparative methods, the Sorbonne method of in-depth work with the text, content analysis of scientific papers and publications in the media and included observation. The author firmly believes that the analysis of the scientific heritage of Seymour Martin Lipset is impossible without taking into account the civic position of the scientist, which determined the subject of his research: the formation and development of democracy in the United States and other countries, the role of legitimacy, the organization of political parties, the development of the electoral process, the importance of conflicts and consensus in regulating public relations and changing the political system (the dilemma of capitalism-socialism or the third way).

How to approach state capture in post-communist Europe. A new research agenda

ABSTRACT Recent empirical evidence from post-communist Southeast Europe suggests that state capture is no longer limited to opportunities for rent extraction and the economic gain of businesspersons, oligarchs, tycoons, and individual politicians. Rather, it offers political parties a potent means of survival, allowing them to win the next elections and maintain political office. In this article, I look into what kind of research these developments, which have been seen across Southeast Europe, demand. I revisit the three issues that have remained understudied from the perspective of party state capture since the publication of initial research on the topic by O’Dwyer and Grzymała-Busse in the mid-2000s. These are the organization of political parties, the nature of public administration, and the measurement of state capture. I claim that party patronage has become the regional political parties’ main activity, with parties being transformed into a pool for the recruitment of future party-loyal public officials tasked to extract public funds. As a consequence, the public administration sees a radical re-politicization, the elimination of professional standards, and the large-scale abuse of public funds. These changes enable a more objective measurement of the cost of state capture.

Hacking the representative system through deliberation? The organization of the Agora party in Brussels

Recent years have witnessed the emergence of a variety of deliberative practices in the organization and activities of political parties. What remains unclear, however, is how parties can promote deliberative democracy in an environment that remains predominantly representative. To investigate this tension, we study the Agora party in Brussels. Agora competed for the first time in the 2019 regional elections in Brussels with the aim of institutionalizing a permanent, randomly selected Citizen’s Assembly with legislative power in the Brussels Capital Region and immediately gained a seat in the Brussels Regional Parliament. Based on an in-depth qualitative study including 20 semi-structured interviews with a broad range of party members and document analysis, we study whether and how Agora’s organizational structure, i.e. its leadership and centralization, its intra-party democracy, and its organizational resources, allow it to promote deliberative democracy in a representative context. We argue that Agora experiences tensions between its deliberative ideals and its representative means and that there is a looming danger of becoming “just another part” of the system. However, it succeeds in simultaneously rejecting and competing in the representative system by adopting a stratarchical party organization.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1057/s41269-021-00226-3.

Explaining intra-party organizational variation at the sub-national level in India

ABSTRACT Existing scholarship on democratic theory has emphasized the role of political party's organization in establishing institutionalized party systems. If an intra-party organization is understood to be a key explanatory variable, then it is important to explain why some political parties have a strong internal organization in comparison to others. However, there is no single study, of which I am aware, that explains variations in the level of organizations within political parties in India. Using Chhibber, Jensenius and Suryanarayan's party organization dataset alongside a qualitative example from the sub-national level in India, I show that there exists a ‘U’ shaped relationship between parties controlling the executive office and the strength of individual party organization. There exists a strong negative effect between time spent in the executive office and individual party organization. It is only in the very long run that parties in government reap the small benefits of the executive office for their individual party organizations.