For more than a century party members have played a central role in many parliamentary
democracies, helping political parties to mobilize voters, and visibly linking party leaders …

For decades, scholars have sought to understand why citizens join political parties and what
influence can be achieved through party membership. Whether we think of political parties …

While the collapse of party membership in the last half‐century has consumed much of the
focus of party scholarship, the notion of membership itself is surprisingly under‐theorised …

Party Patronage and Party Government in European Democracies brings together insights
from the worlds of party politics and public administration in order to analyze the role of …

In the past 30 years, party membership has dropped significantly across Europe, whereas
other forms of political participation have developed. I first show how political parties have …

Political parties have long been recognized as essential institutions of democratic
governance. Both the organization of parties, and their relationships with citizens, the state …

Political party organizations play large roles in democracies, yet their organizations differ
widely, and their statutes change much more frequently than constitutions or electoral laws …

In recent decades, parties in many parliamentary democracies have radically reshaped what
it means to be a party member, making it easier and cheaper to join, and giving members …

Comparative Politics is a series for students and teachers of political science that deals with
contemporary government and politics. The General Editors are Professor Alfio Mastropaolo …

In one of his last publications, Peter Mair documented how party membership had declined
substantially in virtually all European democracies. As his collaborators on this piece, it …