The universe of group representation in Germany: Analysing formal and informal party rules and quotas in the process of candidate selection

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to develop a perspective on the universe of measures for group representation that goes beyond a narrow focus on gender and ethnicity. The article employs an inductive approach by analysing and comparing the formal and informal party quotas and rules applied by political parties in candidate selection processes for the German federal elections using a mixed-method design of qualitative interviews, content analysis and participant observation. The analysis reveals that parties in Germany adopt a broad range of party rules to guarantee group representation, which differ systematically by party type and ideology. Overall, there is a predominance of informal, yet highly institutionalised, quotas and rules. Also, there are clear conflicts as to the relative ranking of specific quotas and rules, leading to interaction effects between them. Based on this neo-institutionalist perspective, the article then attempts to develop a typology of quotas.

Party Elites’ Preferences in Candidates: Evidence from a Conjoint Experiment

“…Selectors may prefer other characteristics in other electoral circumstances or are more willing to compromiseperhaps mainly on socio-demographics-when it comes to candidate electability in systems with a stronger personal vote component. Many political parties, moreover, at least in Germany, have instituted formal (e.g., gender quota) and informal rules (priority for incumbents) that guide candidate nominations (see Reiser 2014). At this juncture, it is impossible to know whether selectors have internalized these rules as norms guiding their preferences for candidates or whether (in-) formal rules and selectors preferences have been merely codeterminous in the first place.…”

The hourglass pattern of women’s representation

“…However, formal rules as well as informal practices can also discriminate positively towards women leading to an increase in women's representation in the nomination phase, in line with the hourglass pattern. Intraparty gender quotas can have an effect on the gender balance (Franceschet, Krook and Piscopo 2012;Verge and Espírito-Santo 2016), but also in non-quota contexts, norms about good candidates can affect the gender composition positively (Pedersen 2003;Reiser 2014). In womenfriendly contexts at the system level, and in parties with gender parity as political goal, parties' and voters' demand for women may be higher than the supply, and the hourglass model will manifest itself.…”

Revealing the “Secret Garden”: The Informal Dimensions of Political Recruitment

“…An additional analytical category is the degree of institutionalization of the rules in place (Reiser 2014;Siavelis and Morgenstern 2008). For example, subjective informal selection criteria can be informally institutionalized within political parties in that they are widely known, accepted, and enforced within a network of institutional actors, whereas formal selection criteria may be written down but not always institutionalized and implemented.…”