Membership vote for party leadership changes: Electoral effects and the causal mechanisms behind

Autor: Zeynep Somer-Topcu, Joseph Francesco Cozza
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Electoral Studies. 71:102326
ISSN: 0261-3794
DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2021.102326
Popis: Political parties in parliamentary democracies have increasingly democratized their leadership selection processes, incorporating the votes of party members. Despite generating numerous headlines, there has been a relative dearth of cross-national scholarly work on the electoral effects of selectorate expansion and the causal mechanisms behind them. This study fills this gap in the literature. Using observational data from eleven parliamentary democracies, we show that parties using membership selection can expect a polling boost when compared to those using more exclusive mechanisms. However, membership selection does not affect electoral performance. Nevertheless, our crossnational analyses and results from a survey experiment from Australia suggest that incorporating members generates excitement, demonstrates an openness to new ideas, and can be a signal of leader work ethic and a commitment to the democratic process, increasing leader legitimacy. We discuss the disconnect between these positive evaluations and the lack of electoral effects, and suggest possible strategies for parties to improve their electoral standing.
Databáze: OpenAIRE