The rise of digital communication tools and internal party platforms has led to significant changes in how party members participate, collaborate, and influence decision-making processes (Barberà et al., 2021). While these changes have been widely discussed during the pandemic, they reflect a long-term trend of digitalization within party organizations.
On the one hand, the introduction of digital participatory processes might ensure party sustainability in an increasingly digitalized society. Digital platforms can improve accessibility to party information, facilitate communication among members, and enable faster decision-making processes. Furthermore, the digital transformation has broadened the concept of party membership, fostering new forms of party affiliation. These affiliations commonly “share three characteristics: they are centralized, digital, and highly accessible”(Scarrow, 2015, p. 136).
On the other hand, challenges and ambivalences should be discussed. Existing research on the introduction of digital participation tools raises concerns about the extent to which these tools can replace traditional, in-person forms of participation that have long characterized member engagement (Thuermer et al., 2018). Especially for the actual membership, face-to-face meetings remain crucial for fostering personal connections, trust, and shared commitment to collective goals (Michels, 2021). Routines are crucial for member participation “and a mismatch between these routines and new ways of communication may threaten the functioning of parties in the long term” (Ziegler et al., 2024).
Therefore, this article explores the perspective of the actual party members on new forms of participation and on opening up the party for new forms of party affiliation. Based on data from the German Digital Party Membership (DigiPM) survey (2020–2021), this study aims to understand: What kinds of party reforms (Gauja, 2017) do members demand and support? Through this analysis, this paper opens a debate over the balance between inclusion and exclusivity, and the risk of weakening the organizational coherence of parties as collective organizations. How participation is structured within the party remains a question of power (Deseriis, 2020).
This paper contributes to the broader literature on party organization and membership in the digital age. It argues that successful digital reforms must align with the expectations and needs of party members. The findings highlight the potential of a hybrid approach that uses digital tools to modernize party structures without undermining the collective, participatory nature of membership.
Paper proposal for Section 31, Panel 5: Integrity and Accountability in Digital Participatory Processes