The Cartel Party and Intra-Party Democracy

A widely quoted assertion of the article on the cartel party thesis refers to the effects of widening participation rights for ordinary party members. In an age where the introduction plebiscitary means of intra-party decision-making was widely regarded as leading to more intra-party democracy, Katz and Mair argued against the conventional wisdom. They pointed out that that the introduction of postal ballots for intra-party decisions was likely to by-pass the party activists and simply strengthen the leaders. Some 25 years later, it is time to take stock and assess whether their prediction in that we would see a widening of participation right for ordinary members was correct. In an age of strong trends towards the widespread use of internet-based methods of communication, this is likely but by no means certain. Furthermore, it is time to make a more thorough analysis of the actual effects of the alleged trend towards plebiscitary intra-party democracy. This paper will pursue both aims.