1. Party organisational change in Italy (1991-2006)
- Author
-
Piero Ignazi, Luciano Bardi, Oreste Massari, P.Ignazi, L.Bardi, and O.Massari
- Subjects
Cultural Studies ,021110 strategic, defence & security studies ,History ,Sociology and Political Science ,Regionalism (politics) ,05 social sciences ,Polarization (politics) ,0211 other engineering and technologies ,02 engineering and technology ,Public administration ,Party platform ,0506 political science ,Split-ticket voting ,Statute ,Politics ,BASIC UNITS ,Organisational change ,Primary election ,Anthropology ,Law ,Political science ,ITALIAN PARTIES ,050602 political science & public administration ,MEMBERSHIP - Abstract
This article analyses, adopting the well-known approach of Katz and Mair, the issue of organizational change within Italian political parties since 1990. In addition to an account of trends in membership, local units, finances, staff, and of changes in party statutes, the article aims at testing the widespread view in the literature that organizational resources–hence power–are becoming more and more concentrated in the hands of party and/or parliamentary leaders, and correspondingly that the territorial presence of parties is declining. The analysis of the change over time of Katz and Mair's party organisational ‘faces’ leads to the confirmation, to a large extent, of the overall hypothesis of a decline of the party at ground level, and a concentration of party resources in the central office, and above all in the party in public office.
- Published
- 2010