Party Membership and Activism in a New Democracy: Evidence from the Portuguese Case

Abstract

While the analysis of party models and types of party members has been widely discussed at the theoretical level, empirical research has not attracted similar attention. This study contributes to filling this gap by examining an understudied case, namely party members in Portuguese political parties. The key objective of this article is to make a contribution to the study of activism and dedication to the party, in a comparative perceptive, considering different types of parties. The survey applied was based on an on-line questionnaire conducted within the MAPP (Members and Activists of Political Parties) research network. The dataset included members of several parties ranging from typical catch-all parties (PS - Socialist Party; PSD - Social Democratic Party) to elite-based types (CDS-PP - Social Democratic Centre-Popular Party), as well as 'movement' party types (BE - Left Bloc; LIVRE). The study covers four main dimensions of party membership: party members' socio-demographic profile, ideological attitudes, reasons for joining the party, and activism levels and types. We show that party membership in Portugal follows similar trends to other advanced European democracies, albeit with important differences between parties. These results are an important barometer for measuring the quality of democracy, especially one as young as Portugal's.

Multi Patronage and Melting-Pot Social Cleavage: Secularist Political Parties Defeat Islamist Political Parties in Muslim Society

“…Webb emphasizes the political party's ability to deal with elections, organizational development and party performance, all of which are acquired by political parties through popular legitimacy, party power, systemic functionality and public knowledge (Schmidt, 2020). This idea is in line with the new institutionalism theory described by Goodin and Klingemann which states that the new institutionalism as "the next revolution" in political science (Santo et al, 2018). It is no longer limited to the meaning of political organization, but more than that, it refers to a stable and permanent behavior, or 'a stable, securing pattern of behavior'.…”

Multiparty Activism in Uganda: The Experience of National Resistance Movement and National Unity Platform

“…Internal party politics, make some party members who actively played key roles in their party activities leave and join other political parties, where they are recruited and recognized as members (Nonnenmacher & Spier, 2019;Santo et al, 2018). They further indicated that political parties engaged in politics based on ideology addressed issues such as economic freedom, the state taking a central role in socio-economic progress, and the freedom of their people.…”

“…There are 26 registered active political parties in Uganda (Uganda Electoral Commission, 2021). And most studies on these political parties have focused on multi-party dynamics politics and the role of political parties (Bale et al, 2018;Kakuba, 2010;Makara, 2009;Santo et al, 2018). This proposes that there were scanty or no studies on the involvement motivations of members of political parties into political party activism in Uganda, particularly in the NRM and NUP cases.…”