Abstract
The German Green Party, which is one of the most successful Green parties in Western Europe, has not only been efficient in changing the political agenda of the Federal Republic. It has also challenged the conventional way of organizing party politics by institutionalizing a series of organizational principles that are inspired by the ideals of grass-roots democracy. However, despite the ideological appeal of grass-roots democracy to Green sympathizers, the party has failed to attract sufficiently large numbers of active party members. The Greens are caught in a dilemma, because they appeal to those segments of West German society where ‘non-partisans' are most numerous. This undermines the functioning, and hence the credibility, of Green grass-roots democracy.
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