Party Statutes Research Articles

Integrated Disaster Management Awareness in Turkish Political Party Statutes and Programs

Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, toplumu oluşturan kitlelerin ideolojisini temsil eden siyasi partilerin, yasama ve yürütme erklerine aracılık ettiği, temsili demokrasi ile yürütülmektedir. Siyasi partilerin kuruluş amaç ve hedefleri, yönetim stratejileri, parti tüzük ve programları ile belirlenmektedir. Çalışmada, Türkiye’de aktif siyasi partilerin tüzük ve programları, afet yönetimi bağlamında tartışılmaktadır. Böylece, ülke yönetiminde karar vericilerin afet yönetimine yaklaşımları irdelenerek, afet politikasındaki eksiklerin saptanması amaçlanmaktadır. Çalışma kapsamında, 2022 yılı itibariyle vilayetlerin salt çoğunluğunda örgütlenmesini tamamlayarak bir sonraki genel seçime girme hakkı kazanan, ülke siyasetinde etki ve etkinlik gösteren siyasi partilerin tüzük ve programları incelenmektedir. Çalışma yöntemini nitel içerik analizi oluşturmaktadır. Bu yönteme göre siyasi parti tüzük ve programlarında vurgulanan politika ve stratejiler arasından bütünleşik afet yönetiminin kapsamını oluşturan kavram ve temalar, bütünleşik afet yönetimin beş görev alanı; önleme-zarar azaltma-hazırlık-müdahale-iyileştirme ile ilgilerine göre sınıflandırılmaktadır. Çalışma kapsamında, afete dirençli toplumun oluşturulması için politika geliştirmekle sorumlu olan siyasi partilerin afet olgusuna yönelik yaklaşımları incelenmektedir. Ayrıca, siyasi partilerin sorumluluklarını hangi ölçüde yerine getirmeyi planladıkları ve bütünleşik afet yönetimi üzerine politika geliştirdikleri görev alanları saptanmaktadır. Çalışma sonucunda, medya ve iletişim aygıtlarını güçlü biçimde kullanan yeni nesil siyasi partiler ile birlikte, çağdaş toplumsal ve teknolojik dinamiklere uyum sağlayarak kendini yenileyen köklü siyasi partilerin, afet yönetiminin konuları üzerine politika geliştirdiği görülmektedir. Ancak bu politikalar, bütünleşik afet yönetiminin tüm görev alanlarını kapsayan bilinçli stratejilere dönüşmemekte, dirençli toplumun oluşturulmasına yeterli düzeyde katkı sağlamamaktadır. Bu bağlamda siyasi partilerin, afet yönetimi konusunda toplumsal tabana yayılan, tüm afet türlerini ve afetlerin döngüsel süreçlerini kapsayan, bütünleşik politikalar geliştirmesine ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır.

Closer to Citizens or Ticking Boxes? Political Parties and Participatory Practices in Hungary

Political parties use participatory practices to connect with their members and with the broader electorate. While substantial research indicates how people get involved, very little is known about why political parties use participatory practices. The present article addresses this gap in the literature and seeks to identify the reasons parties do so. We elaborate an analytical framework that includes three main categories of explanations: party characteristics, internal dynamics, and external dynamics. Our analysis focuses on Hungary, explores party statutes and manifestos, and relies on 26 semi-structured interviews with party elites from ten political parties. The findings indicate that parties have several purposes in mind, which vary across parties, that are often linked to broader concerns about citizen engagement and to attempts to give members a voice in internal and external decision-making processes.

Party statutes and party institutionalization

Studies of party- and party-system stability have often explored the connection between the party-level property of Party Institutionalization (PI) and parties’ electoral performance and organizational longevity, yet scholars still have not agreed on a standard measure for this concept. This article argues that the length of party statutes could provide part of such a measure, specifically for the extent to which parties have become routinized (a key dimension of PI) through the formalization of their rules and practices. We validate the plausibility of this measure using data on 303 parties from 49 countries, demonstrating that party statute length varies systematically and in ways predicted by our knowledge of how party organizations reflect their institutional environments and the complexity of internal coalitions. We also show that statute length varies in expected ways with attributes often associated with higher or lower levels of party institutionalization. We conclude that statute length offers a conceptually congruent and objective indicator of formalization, one that could be used either alone or combined with measures of parties’ informal practices to advance our understanding of the relationship between PI and democratic development.

Party conflict regulation and intra-party hierarchy in contemporary party organization

ABSTRACT This paper is concerned with one important dimension of intra-organizational hierarchy that has to date received only little attention in cross-national party research, although its relevance has grown in light of both the increasing empowerment of rank-and-file members and the growing inclusiveness of contemporary party organizations: the range of monitoring and disciplinary mechanisms available to parties to manage internal differences and dissent essential to assure the day-to-day functioning of complex organizations. Based on the distinction between ‘organizational control’ and ‘leadership power’ that can be exercised through these mechanisms, this paper explores how the availability and nature of such mechanisms in party statutes is shaped by differences in ideology on the party level and the legal regulation of intra-party conflict regulation on the system level. Patterns are examined with regard to state-wide parties in Germany and Spain, two countries that regulate intra-party conflict legally, and the UK and Ireland, two countries that do not.

Introducing the party-interest group relationships in contemporary democracies datasets

Few existing datasets on parties and interest groups include data from both sides and a wide variety of interest groups and parties. We contribute to filling this gap by making several interconnected new datasets publicly available. The Party-Interest Group Relationships in Contemporary Democracies (PAIRDEM) datasets include cross-national data from three different surveys of (1) central party organizations, (2) legislative party groups, and (3) interest groups. A fourth dataset based on coding of party statutes and party finance data was established together with the Political Party Database. The datasets contain novel indicators on party-group relationships in up to 21 mature democracies. In this research note, we first present the main content of the datasets and the research design. Second, we present descriptive statistics documenting the extent of organizational ties between parties and groups in contemporary democracies. Third, we illustrate more advanced usage through a simple application.

Angela Merkel and the CDU Quota Curse

During the 2019 centennial celebration of women’s suffrage in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel conceded that gender quotas are important and that the ultimate goal must be gender parity. Merkel’s legacy in terms of advancing women within her own party, however, is mixed. Surrounding herself with a tight circle of women professionals and arguably modelling success for fellow women party members, she nonetheless remained noncommittal on parity. Her support for the ‘quorum’, a 33 per cent inner-party ‘quota light’ adopted in 1996, appeared muted and inconsequential. Throughout Merkel’s chancellorship, the CDU failed to adhere to this quota in party offices and among parliamentarians. Analysing gender-disaggregated party and electoral data with insights gleaned from semi-structured interviews with party members, this article sheds light on CDU quota implementation challenges. We assess inner-party politics and policies within the context of the CDU’s struggle to attract female voters, to respond to an increasingly progressive Women’s Union, and to accommodate its Bavarian sister party, the CSU. We find that despite a reframing of its gender equality agenda and strong inner-party mobilisation, the CDU majority still resists quotas. The mismatch between party statutes and electoral system, moreover, obstructs quota implementation, making gender parity in the CDU an elusive goal.

Increasing women’s political representation in post-communism: party nudges and financial corrections in Romania

ABSTRACT The article investigates some of the potential factors leading to increased gender balance in post-communist societies. Focusing on Romania, the study shows that, at the party level, the centralisation of the candidate selection processes, the pre-existence of women as party leaders, or the articulation of women organisations within parties did not bring about a long-term change in the recruitment routines. Conversely, the article points to the fact that minor changes in the party finance regulations succeeded to nudge parties towards gender diversity. This research is based on qualitative content analysis of electoral and party legislation and party statutes.

Vote-Seeking Among Non-Resident Citizens: How Romanian Parties Form Organisations Abroad

ABSTRACT Non-resident voters can be an important share of the electorate. To compete for their votes, parties in the country of origin establish organisations abroad. This article analyses the organisations established by Romanian parliamentary parties in the countries hosting large numbers of Romanian migrants. The analysis relies on qualitative content analysis of party statutes and semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that parties differ in their degree of formalisation, territorial coverage and division of power when establishing their organisations abroad.

Political Parties and Diaspora: A Case Study of Romanian Parties’ Involvement Abroad

Abstract How do parties organise for success in engaging with their diaspora? This study investigates the impact Romanian diaspora has had on national political parties. It develops an argument based on diaspora recognition, engagement and policy as implemented by old and new parties. The analysis shows that recognition of diaspora in party statutes is not a guarantee for engagement. The latter increases with the use of new online communication strategies, provided there is a demand for such communication platforms. New parties with a strong anti-corruption stance mobilise diaspora online. The policy strategy emphasises diaspora support rather than diaspora return as incumbent parties take a gradual approach based on rights and identity promotion, which increases the economic utility of the engagement. The results are based on the analysis of party statutes, governmental documents, party online communication strategies and interviews with party members.

Italian Political Parties and Their Organisation beyond National Borders

Abstract According to the most recent statistics, 8.8% of the Italian population is registered as living abroad. This figure has increased considerably following the 2007 global economic crisis, with the number of Italians abroad rising from 3.1 million in 2006 to over 5 million in 2018 (+70% in only 12 years). Additionally, legislation on voting from abroad was amended to allow for postal voting and established 18 reserved seats for Italians abroad. These conditions seem to offer strong incentives for political parties to engage with potential supporters abroad in a structured and stable way. Yet, the analysis revealed significant variation among parties. By undertaking a close analysis of the organisational rules for the Italian party abroad as contained in party Statutes, the article suggests that variation among parties can be explained by their individual history of diaspora representation and by the organisational model established at the national level.

Party Membership in Romania: Political Legitimacy, Party Finance and Organisational Changes

The article retraces the contradictions between the regulations and the practices shaping Romanian party membership in order to show why and how membership decline became an electoral-driven strategy. It contrasts high membership figures, the dynamics of legal definitions of party membership, and party routines. The results indicate that the Romanian example is an atypical case of incongruence between organisational configurations and party models of ‘constitutionalisation’. The frailty of party organisations in this post-communist country depends not only on the broken linkages between state and society but also on exogenous factors, such as the anti-corruption campaign and opportunistic intraparty agreements. The study uses a qualitative content analysis of party laws, party statutes, official statements, and desk research.

Electoral performance beyond leaders? The organization of populist parties in postcommunist Europe

In spite of extensive research dedicated to the rise and development of fringe populist political parties in Eastern Europe, little attention has been paid to the organizational determinants of their electoral performance. This article aims to fill this void in the literature and analyzes the extent to which particular types of leadership and party organization could influence the electoral performance of three political parties from Bulgaria, Republic of Moldova, and Romania. The qualitative analysis is conducted for the period 2012–2015 and uses a combination of primary (party statutes) and secondary sources (party histories, electoral databases, and literature). The results indicate how the existence of underdeveloped party organizations has a negative influence on the electoral performance, while strong and charismatic leaders are an insufficient condition for ensuring survival in the political arena.

Multilevel party organizations in a fragmented presidential system: The case of Brazil

ABSTRACT The article analyzes the combined impact of hitherto understudied factors in the literature about multilevel parties – presidentialism, party agency, and party system fragmentation – on the vertical integration of party organizations, using Brazil as a case study. We rely on original data on party funding and intra-party interventions, party statutes, and secondary literature to compare the multilevel distribution of powers within the major Brazilian parties. The findings show that state branches receive overall more autonomy to deal with their own regional matters than powers to participate in central party decisions. The differences among parties can be attributed mainly to strategic choices: the parties that usually engage in presidential races grant lower levels of autonomy to their regional branches and face fewer pressures from regional elites. The findings have theoretical and empirical implications beyond the case, as they suggest important connections between multilevel party organizations, institutions, and party strategies.

Turkey, Kemalism, and the Soviet Union: Problems of Modernization, Ideology and Interpretation by Vahram Ter-Matevosyan

Reviewed by: Turkey, Kemalism, and the Soviet Union: Problems of Modernization, Ideology and Interpretation by Vahram Ter-Matevosyan Naira Sahakyan (bio) Vahram Ter-Matevosyan, Turkey, Kemalism, and the Soviet Union: Problems of Modernization, Ideology and Interpretation (New York; London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). 279 pp., ill. Bibliography. Index. ISBN: 978-3-319-97403-3. Comparative studies of the Russian and Ottoman Empires have become fairly common in historiography. Surprisingly, interest in comparing the two countries does not extend to the successor states of the two empires, the USSR and the Republic of Turkey, and their ideological systems, Bolshevism and Kemalism, respectively. This is all the more conspicuous given the significant mutual interest of scholars in both countries. Soviet historians produced an impressive number of works on Turkey in general and on Kemalism in particular. Arguably, the lack of comparative studies of the Bolshevik and Kemalist regimes could be explained by the lack of command of the Russian language among Turkish and Western historians and by severe ideological contraints imposed on Soviet scholars. The book by Vahram Ter-Matevosyan aims to fill this lacuna. After presenting the formation and development of the Kemalist regime and its perception by contemporaries (in chapters 1–6), in the final two chapters the author discusses Soviet perceptions of the Kemalist revolution and Kemal's ideas and reforms, and brings together the fragmented international historiography of Kemalism. In reconstructing Soviet attitudes to Kemalism, Ter-Matevosyan goes beyond a narrow focus on Soviet-Turkish relations and explores the broader political context of bilateral contacts, such as World War II. The author approaches "Kemalism as a specifically republican phenomenon with strong and vivid characteristics inherited from the Ottoman past" (P. 9). Ter-Matevosyan sets two goals in his study: (1) examining the evolution and internal dynamics of Kemalism, and (2) examining existing problems and gaps in the study of Kemalism (Pp. 2–3). A salient feature of the book is its broad time frame, which covers the 1920s to the 1970s and encompasses three main topics: problems of defining and interpreting Kemalism (covered by chapters 1 and 6), a chronological account of the main stages of Kemalism's formation and transformation (chapters 2–4), and Soviet interpretations of Kemalism and their historical context (chapters 7 and 8). In chapter 1, Ter-Matevosyan outlines the main trends and problems in the international historiography of Kemalism, and shows that even the definition of Kemalism and [End Page 214] its periodization remain contested topics. For example, he writes, "Before the late 1980s, most existing accounts of Kemalism failed to see Kemalist reforms and ideas as stemming from the Ottoman era" (P. 13). Transcending traditional historiographic boundaries, Ter-Matevosyan brings into the discussion the Soviet historiography of Kemalism, which he groups into several phases: the 1920s to the mid-1930s, the mid-1930s to the late 1950s, and the post-Stalin era. This periodization is dicussed at length in the book's final two chapters, while also systematically referring to Soviet studies and perceptions of Kemalism throughout the text. Chapter 2 covers the political turning points of the 1920s and 1930s, from the foundation of the Republic of Turkey until the death of Atatürk in 1938. The author begins with an examination of the political consolidation of the 1920s, then turns to the first attempts of the ideological conceptualization of the new political regime – the development of the principles of the Republican People's Party (RPP) as the core of Kemalism. Ter-Matevosyan concludes that the Nine Principles elaborated by Mustafa Kemal on April 8, 1923, were more of a short-term policy platform rather than a strategic ideological vision (P. 45). These principles were elaborated in the wake of the RPP's Great Congress, where Mustafa Kemal delivered his "Six-Day Speech," known as "Nutuk." The first party statute adopted at the congress "for the first time … mentioned the party's republican (cümhuriyetçi), populist (halkçı), and nationalist (milliyetçi) nature" (P. 46). The Soviet emissaries present at the congress, Ol'ga Kameneva and Ziya Feridov, viewed "the cultural and educational reforms of the Kemalist regime as superficial and urban-centered" (P. 47). Already at the beginning of the 1930s...

‘I bend, indeed, but never break’: Formal rules and informal processes of candidate selection for European elections

Many of the criticisms commonly made of modern political parties concern their alleged lack of transparency and use of informality in their inner organization. Yet, little is known about the extent to which parties really bend their rules. This article investigates whether and how political parties use informality in one central aspect of intra-party life: candidate selection. More specifically, selection procedures for European elections are examined since party actions at the European level are still under little scrutiny from the media and the voters, hence granting them much leeway. To compare rules with practices, actors and levels cited in 51 party statutes are matched with their uses in 2014, gathered through a survey and interviews of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Even though informal processes are found to be generally less inclusive than the rules prescribed, divergences are often modest, suggesting that parties do not necessarily rely on informality in their day-to-day functioning.

When Europeanisation meets organisation: enhancing the rights of party members in Central and Eastern Europe

The participation of members in intra-party decision-making has been extensively documented in the literature. This article brings forward the concept of party member rights that adds the dimension of freedom of opinion and action within the party. It aims to identify the causes behind these rights in political parties from three Central and Eastern European countries (Hungary, Romania and Slovakia). It argues and tests how party age, Europeanisation and party leadership change may enhance PMR. The empirical evidence draws on an original dataset based on standardised content analysis of 142 party statutes between 1988 and 2012. The results reveal important and robust effects of these variables when controlling for other determinants.

How to Measure Party Institutionalization: Expanding the PPDB to Asia

In this paper, we try to develop the indexes to measure the institutionalization of party organization beyond the scope of Western countries. Political parties in advanced industrial democracies have experienced big transformations since the end of WWII. In sum, one type of party has declined, and another has prospered. Some researchers try to capture the ebb and flow from the perspective of party institutionalization. According to this line of research, the distinction between internal and external institutionalization of political parties is usually made. Although the endeavor to quantify the degree of internal institutionalization is scarce, some research operationalizes it as ‘routinization’ of party internal life, which can be judged by the existence of formal rules. The Political Party Database (PPDB) contains over 300 variables which codify many aspects of party organizations based on party statutes. By exploiting the comprehensiveness of PPDB, we compose the Structures Index and the Party Decisions Index to measure the internal institutionalization, by mainly counting the number of formal rules. After that, we test their validity by both quantitative and qualitative ways. We use the Japanese case to examine whether the outcomes drawn from the regression analyses of PPDB countries are supported. Our indexes pass the tests by satisfactory results. This attempt will show how far our indexes can travel, and indicate the extent to which the PPDB variables and coding are useful for comparing important organizational similarities and differences.

Intraparty democracy in Central and Eastern Europe

In the postcommunist period, political parties in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) had to convincingly demonstrate that they are a vital part of a functioning democratic society. Well-developed intraparty democracy (IPD) is one way of accomplishing this. By asking what factors are relevant to an explanation of IPD formation, we present an analytical framework in which the formation of IPD can be investigated and explore the patterns of IPD and their determinants. We draw on a newly constructed data set based on standardized content analysis, including 129 party statutes from 14 major political parties from Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia between 1989 and 2011. Relying on unit fixed-effects regression approaches, our analyses suggest that especially imperatives related to party origin and Europeanization have important implications for the formation of IPD within CEE parties.

“The Holy of Holies”: Formation and Evolution of the Party Statute (1898–1920s)

“The Holy of Holies”: Formation and Evolution of the Party Statute (1898–1920s)

Benjamin von dem Berge, Thomas Poguntke, Peter Obert and Diana Tipei, Measuring Intra-Party Democracy: A Guide for the Content Analysis of Party Statutes with Examples from Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, Reviewed by: Robin T Pettitt

Benjamin von dem Berge, Thomas Poguntke, Peter Obert and Diana Tipei, Measuring Intra-Party Democracy: A Guide for the Content Analysis of Party Statutes with Examples from Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, Reviewed by: Robin T Pettitt