A digital party? Evolution of the Czech Pirates

This paper examines the digital party model designed by Paolo Gerbaudo (2019), using the Czech Pirates as a case study. The party was initially organised through an online platform and characterised by ad-hoc, informal decision-making. However, an electoral breakthrough was only secured through a shift to the offline sphere and an adaptation involving investment in structures, paid facilities and partial professionalisation, as well as the creation of detailed internal rules. In this way, a specific, purely online community underwent a significant transformation that ensured its political success and institutionalisation. The effect has also been a significant move away from the digital party model.