Getting in, moving up, dropping out. The threefold social selectivity of participation in political parties – an empirical analysis of party members, former party members and the general public in Germany in 2017

Abstract

Does the probability to join a political party, to become a party functionary, and to leave a party depend on individuals' socioeconomic status? Political parties are central mediating actors between the population and the state; thus, it is reasonable to assume that unequal participation within parties fosters unequal political representation. However, due to data limitations no study has hitherto examined the social selectivity of the whole party membership cycle. We shed light on these issues by analyzing original data from the German Party Membership Study 2017. We find that socially disadvantaged individuals are less likely to become and to stay party members and have a lower proclivity for holding political offices. These effects persist even after controlling for socialpsychological variables and the general incentives for party membership. However, in line with recent findings on voter turnout we show that social selectivity is partly mediated by political efficacy.

Intertwined fates? Members switching between niche and mainstream parties

“…Few panel surveys of party members have been conducted in the past (Bale et al, 2020; Rüdig et al, 1993; Whiteley and Seyd, 2002). Most studies use survey data to compare current members with former members collected at the same time point, that is, after the decision to leave had been made (Nonnenbacher and Rohrbach, 2019; Springer et al, 2021; Van Schuur and Voerman, 2010; Wagner, 2017). However, ‘post-decision dissonance’ (Brehm, 1956; Festinger, 1957) suggests that individuals may adjust their perceptions and beliefs in order to justify previous decisions taken.…”

“…Previous empirical studies seeking to explain members leaving their party (cf. Bale et al, 2020; Barnfield and Bale, 2020; Kölln and Polk, 2017; Nonnenmacher and Rohrbach, 2019; Springer et al, 2021; Whiteley and Seyd, 2002; Wagner, 2017) combine a focus on the individual characteristics of party members, such as their belief in their ability to have an impact, social and emotional ties between individual members and their party and the degree of ideological (in)congruence between members and party.…”