Conceptualising party-driven movements

Abstract

This article contributes to scholarship on the relationship between political parties and social movements by proposing the concept of ‘party-driven movements’ to understand the formation of a new hybrid model within existing political parties in majoritarian systems. In our two case studies – Momentum’s relationship with the UK Labour Party and the Bernie Sanders-inspired ‘Our Revolution’ with the US Democratic Party – we highlight the conditions under which they emerge and their key characteristics. We analyse how party-driven movements express an ambivalence in terms of strategy (working inside and outside the party), political aims (aiming to transform the party and society) and organisation (in the desire to maintain autonomy while participating within party structures). Our analysis suggests that such party-driven movements provide a potential answer to political parties’ alienation from civil society and may thus be a more enduring feature of Anglo-American majoritarian party systems than the current literature suggests.

‘Opportunities have pretty much disappeared’: The Movement for Scottish Independence in Abeyance during Covid-19

“…The MSI is in a somewhat different position to many movements in this regard, since the party leading the Scottish Government remains a central social movement organisation. In many ways it resembles what Muldoon and Rye (2020) term 'party-driven movements'. Whilst the UK Government sought to silence calls for independence, the nested nature of UK governance means that the Scottish Government at Holyrood could use its handling of the pandemic to signal differences from Westminster (Parker 2021).…”

“Mass,” “Movement,” “Personal,” or “Cartel” Party? Fidesz’s Hybrid Organisational Strategy

“…Personalisation (Musella, 2018) and cartelisation (Katz & Mair, 1995) are well-known, but there are multiplying signs of a renaissance in mass-party practices (cf. Heinisch & Mazzoleni, 2016) and the movement activity used by the parties (Muldoon & Rye, 2020). Second, loosening institutional and political barriers can lead to extraordinary organisational forms.…”

“…In order to support charismatic leadership and counterbalance the cartel-like behaviour, Fidesz applies "the organisational and strategic practices of social movements in the arena of party competition" (Kitschelt, 2006, p. 280; see also Almeida, 2010, p. 174). However, the movements that directly support the party (the Civic Circles and the Civil Cooperation Forum) were created in a top-down manner with no autonomy compared to other radical right-wing movement parties (Gunther & Diamond, 2003, p. 189) or left-wing party-driven movements (Muldoon & Rye, 2020). Thus, the movement party characteristics have manifested in an extreme way as the party uses this strategy as a tool for constant mobilisation.…”

Pop-socialism: A new radical left politics? Evaluating the rise and fall of the British and Italian left in the anti-austerity age

“…They would become the platform for the various left strands that had converged around Corbyn's leadership: post-GFC 'extra-parliamentary, social movement activism', preceding 'protest coalitions', the 'existing Labour Left', and the 'left of the trade union movement' (Klug et al, 2016: 37, 38). Momentum fitted with the criteria we would expect of the RLNS -they were a 'satellite' of the leaders' supporters which remained aligned to the party but formally independent of it (see Dommett and Temple, 2018;Muldoon and Rye, 2020).…”