This article theorises and empirically investigates the membership involvement offer in political parties and interest groups in contemporary democracies, to better understand the potential that these political organisations have in performing the role of transmission belts between citizens and the state. The expectation is that parties and interest groups that become insiders will curtail the participatory opportunities for members in decision-making processes, but that insider parties will offer broader avenues for membership involvement than insider interest groups. We explore these propositions by focusing on two Green parties and two environmental public interest groups in the contrasting institutional settings of Norway and the United Kingdom. Our analysis based on primary case study data indicates that insider green parties maintain more inclusive participatory structures than insider environmental groups. The receipt of state benefits leads to less membership involvement in political organisations, unless the state demands recipients of such benefits to be organised democratically.
AkkermannTde LangeSLRooduijnM (2016) Inclusion and Mainstreaming? Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in the New Millennium. In: AkkermannTDe LangeSLRooduijnM (eds) Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in Western Europe. Into the Mainstream?Oxon; New York: Routledge, pp.1–28.
2.
AlbaredaA (2018) Connecting Society and Policymakers? Conceptualizing and Measuring the Capacity of Civil Society Organizations to Act as Transmission Belts. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations29: 1216–1232.
3.
AlbaredaA (2020) Prioritizing Professionals? How the Democratic and Professionalized Nature of Interest Groups Shapes Their Degree of Access to EU Officials. European Political Science Review12 (4): 485–501.
4.
AlbaredaABraunC (2019) Organizing Transmission Belts: The Effect of Organizational Design on Interest Group Access to EU Policy-making. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies57: 468–485.
5.
AlbertazziDMcDonnellD (2005) The Lega Nord in the Second Berlusconi Government: in a League of Its Own. West European Politics28 (5): 952–972.
6.
AylottNBolinN (2017) Managed Intra-Party Democracy. Precursory Delegation and Party Leader Selection. Party Politics23 (1): 55–65.
7.
BaraksoMSchaffnerBF (2007) Exit, Voice, and Interest Group Governance. American Politics Research36 (2): 186–209.
8.
BardiLCalossiEPizzimentiE (2017) Which Face Comes First? The Ascendancy of the Party in Public Office. In: ScarrowSEWebbPDPoguntkeT (eds) Organizing Political Parties. Representation, Participation, and Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.62–83.
9.
BarneaSRahatG (2007) Reforming Candidate Selection Methods: A Three-Level Approach. Party Politics13 (3): 375–394.
10.
BennieL (2016) Greens in the United Kingdom and Ireland Weak but Persistent. In: Van HauteE (ed.) Green Parties in Europe. Oxon; New York: Routledge, pp.196–216.
11.
BeyersJEisingRMaloneyW (2008) Researching Interest Group Politics in Europe and Elsewhere: Much We Study, Little We Know?West European Politics31 (6): 1103–1128.
12.
BilleL (2001) Democratizing a Democratic Procedure: Myth or Reality? Candidate Selection in Western European Parties, 1960–1990. Party Politics7 (3): 363–380.
13.
BinderkrantzAS (2009) Membership Recruitment and Internal Democracy in Interest Groups: Do Group–Membership Relations Vary Between Group Types?West European Politics32 (3): 657–678.
14.
BolleyerN (2018) The State and Civil Society: Regulating Interest Groups, Parties, and Public Benefit Organizations in Contemporary Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
15.
BolleyerNCorreaP (2020) Member Influence and Involvement in Civil Society Organizations: A Resource Dependency Perspective on Groups and Parties. Political Studies. Epub ahead of print 19November. DOI: 10.1177/0032321720968018.
16.
BortneØGrendstadGSelleP, et al. (2001) Norsk miljøvernorganisering mellom stat og lokalsamfunn. Oslo: Samlaget.
17.
BortneØSellePStrømsnesK (2002) Miljøvern uten grenser? Makt- og demokratiutredningen. Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS.
18.
BossoCJ (2005) Environment, Inc.: From Grassroots to Beltway. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
19.
BukowS (2016) The Green Party in Germany. In: Van HauteE (ed.) Green Parties in Europe. London; New York: Routledge, pp.112–139.
20.
CnaanRA (1991) Neighborhood-Representing Organizations: How Democratic Are They?Social Service Review65 (4): 614–634.
21.
CornforthCEdwardsC (1998) Good Governance: Developing Effective Board-management Relations in Public and Voluntary Organizations. London: CIMA Publishing.
22.
CrossWPKatzRS (2013) The Challenges of Intra-Party Democracy. In: CrossWKatzRS (eds) The Challenges of Intra-Party Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1–10.
23.
CrossWPPiletJB (2015) The Politics of Party Leadership. A Cross-national Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
24.
DianiMDonatiPR (1999) Organisational Change in Western European Environmental Groups: A Framework for Analysis. Environmental Politics8 (1): 13–34.
25.
DolezalM (2016) The Greens in Austria and Switzerland: Two Successful Opposition Parties. In: Van HauteE (ed.) Green Parties in Europe. London; New York: Routledge, pp.15–41.
26.
DryzekJDownesDHunoldC, et al. (2003) The Perils of Political Inclusion: Moderation and Bureaucratization. In: DryzekJSDownesDHunoldC, et al. (eds) Green States and Social Movements: Environmentalism in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Norway. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.81–102.
27.
FarrerB (2018) Organizing for Policy Influence: Comparing Parties, Interest Groups, and Direct Action. London: Routledge.
28.
FraussenB (2014) The Visible Hand of the State: On the Organizational Development of Interest Groups. Public Administration92: 406–421.
29.
FraussenBHalpinD (2016) Political Parties and Interest Organizations at the Crossroads: Perspectives on the Transformation of Political Organizations. Political Studies Review16 (1): 25–37.
30.
FraussenBBeyersJDonasT (2015) The Expanding Core and Varying Degrees of Insiderness: Institutionalised Interest Group Access to Advisory Councils. Political Studies63 (3): 569–588.
31.
GaujaA (2013) Policy Development and Intra-Party Democracy. In: CrossWPKatzRS (eds) The Challenges of Intra-Party Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.116–135.
32.
GaujaA (2015) The Construction of Party Membership. European Journal of Political Research54 (2): 232–248.
33.
GaujaA (2016) Party Reform. the Causes, Challenges, and Consequences of Organizational Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
34.
GrantZPTilleyJ (2019) Fertile Soil: Explaining Variation in the Success of Green Parties. West European Politics42 (3): 495–516.
35.
GrendstadGSellePStrømsnesK (2006) Unique Environmentalism. A Comparative Perspective. New York: Springer.
36.
GrömpingMHalpinDR (2019) Does Group Engagement with Members Constitute a ‘Beneficial Inefficiency’?Governance32: 511–529.
37.
GuldbrandsenT (2012) Tilpasninger til endringer i økonomiske rammevilkår. Report 2012:2. Oslo: Senter for forskning på sivilsamfunn og frivillig sektor.
38.
HalpinDR (2010) Groups, Representation and Democracy: Between Promise and Practice. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
39.
HassanJ (2003) The Seaside, Health and Environment in England and Wales since 1800. London: Routledge.
40.
HeaneyMT (2010) Linking Political Parties and Interest Groups. In: MaiselLSBerryJM (eds) The Oxford Handbook of American Political Parties and Interest Groups. Oxford University Press, pp.568–587.
41.
HeylenFWillemsEBeyersJ (2020) Do Professionals Take Over? Professionalisation and Membership Influence in Civil Society Organisations. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 31: 1226–1238.
42.
HolmesKSlaterA (2012) Patterns of Voluntary Participation in Membership Associations: A Study of UK Heritage Supporter Groups. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly41 (5): 850–869.
43.
Ivanovska HadjievskaM (2019) Exploring the Link between Non-profit Law and the Internal Governance of Non-profit Membership Organisations: Legal Forms and Maintaining Indirect Benefits in the UK and the Netherlands. Doctoral Thesis, University of Exeter, Exeter.
44.
Ivanovska HadjievskaMStavenesT (2020) Maintaining Registration and Tax Benefits: Consequences for Professionalisation of Voluntary Membership Organisations in Norway and the UK. Journal of Civil Society16 (2): 97–119.
45.
JandaK (1980) Political Parties. A Cross-national Survey. New York: The Free Press.
46.
JordanG (2012) Professionalized Supply-Side Mobilization are Financial Contributors ‘Meaningful Participants’? In: Van DethJWMaloneyWA (eds) New Participatory Dimensions in Civil Society Professionalization and Individualized Collective Action. Oxon; New York: Routledge, pp.97–111.
47.
JordanGMaloneyW (1997) The Protest Business: Mobilizing Campaigning Groups. New York: Manchester University Press.
KatzRS (2002) The Internal Life of Parties. In: LutherKRMüller-RommelF (eds) Political Parties in the New Europe. Political and Analytical Challenges. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.87–118.
50.
KatzRSMairP (1992) Party Organizations: A Data Handbook of Party Organizations in Western Democracies, 1960-1990. London: SAGE Publishing.
51.
KatzRSMairP (1995) Changing Models of Party Organization and Party Democracy: The Emergence of the Cartel Party. Party Politics1 (1): 5–28.
52.
KatzRSMairP (2002) The Ascendancy of the Party in Public Office: Party Organizational Change in Twentieth-Century Democracies. In: GuntherRMonteroJRLinzJJ (eds) Political Parties: Old Concepts, New Challenges. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.113–135.
53.
KatzRSMairP (2009) The Cartel Party Thesis: A Restatement. Perspectives on Politics7 (4): 753–766.
54.
KenigO (2009) Democratization of Party Leadership Selection: Do Wider Selectorates Produce More Competitive Contests?Electoral Studies28 (2): 240–247.
55.
LansleyJ (1996) Membership Participation and Ideology in Large Voluntary Organisations: The Case of The National Trust. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations7 (3): 221–240.
56.
LevyJS (2008) Case Studies: Types, Designs, and Logics of Inference. Conflict Management and Peace Science 25: 1–18.
57.
LorentzenH (2010) Statlige tilskudd til frivillige organisasjoner. Report 2010:4. Oslo: Senter for forskning på sivilsamfunn og frivillig sektor.
58.
MairPVan BiezenI (2001) Party Membership in Twenty European Democracies, 1980-2000. Party Politics7 (1): 5–21.
59.
MaloneyWJordanGMcLaughlinA (1994) Interest Groups and Public Policy: The Insider/Outsider Model Revisited. Journal of Public Policy14 (1): 17–38.
60.
NassmacherKH (2009) The Funding of Party Competition. Political Finance in 25 Democracies. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
61.
O’NeillJ (2001) Representing People, Representing Nature, Representing the World. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy19 (4): 483–500.
62.
PedersenMN (1982) Towards a New Typology of Party Lifespans and Minor Parties. Scandinavian Political Studies5 (1): 1–16.
63.
PitkinHF (1967) The Concept of Representation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
64.
PoguntkeTScarrowSEWebbPD, et al. (2016) Party Rules, Party Resources and the Politics of Parliamentary Democracies: How Parties Organize in the 21st Century. Party Politics22 (6): 661–678.
65.
RødlandKOddekalvK (2006) Ridderne i Ludeboden. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.
66.
RahatGHazanRY (2001) Candidate Selection Methods. Party Politics7 (3): 297–322.
67.
RihouxB (2016) Green Party Organisations: The Difficult Path from Activist to Electoral Logics. In: Van HauteE (ed.) Green Parties in Europe. London; New York: Routledge, pp.298–314.
68.
RüdigWSajuriaJ (2020) Green Party Members and Grass-Roots Democracy: A Comparative Analysis. Party Politics26 (1): 21–31.
69.
SaglieJSivesindKH (2018) Civil Society Institutions or Semi-public Agencies? State Regulation of Parties and Voluntary Organizations in Norway. Journal of Civil Society14 (4): 1–19.
70.
SalamonLFlahertyS (1997) Nonprofit Law: Ten Issues in Search of Resolution. In: SalamonL (ed.) The International Guide to Nonprofit Law. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp.8–42.
71.
SalamonLMAnheierHK (1998) Social Origins of Civil Society: Explaining the Nonprofit Sector Cross-Nationally. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations9 (3): 213–248.
72.
SartoriG (1976) Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
73.
SaundersC (2009) Organizational Size and Democratic Practices: Can Large Be Beautiful? In: Della PortaD (ed.) Democracy in Social Movements. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.150–170.
74.
ScarrowS (2000) Parties without Members? In: DaltonRJWattenbergMP (eds) Parties Without Partisans. Political Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.79–101.
75.
SchmitterPCStreeckW (1999) The Organization of Business Interests. Studying the Associative Action of Business in Advanced Industrial Societies. Discussion Paper, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies99 (1): 1–95.
76.
SkocpolT (1999) Advocates without Members: The Recent Transformation of American Civic Life. In: SkocpolTFiorinaMP (eds) Civic Engagement in American Democracy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, pp.461–509.
77.
SmithRGaujaA (2010) Understanding Party Constitutions as Responses to Specific Challenges. Party Politics16 (6): 755–775.
78.
StavenesT (2019) State Funding and Intra-Party Dynamics: Exploring the Impact of State Funding on Staffing, Centralisation, and Electoral Participation in New Minor Parties in Norway and Italy. Doctoral Thesis, University of Exeter, Exeter.
79.
StewartAJKuenziK (2018) The Nonprofit Career Ladder: Exploring Career Paths as Leadership Development for Future Nonprofit Executives. Public Personnel Management47 (4): 359–381.
80.
StinchcombeAL (1965) Social Structure and Organization. In: MarchJG (ed.) Handbook of Organizations. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally, pp.142–193.
81.
StrømK (1991) A Behavioral Theory of Competitive Political Parties. American Journal of Political Science34 (2): 565–598.
82.
StrømKMüllerWC (1999) Political Parties and Hard Choices. In: StrømKMüllerWC (eds) Policy, Office or Votes? How Political Parties in Western Europe Make Hard Decisions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.1–36.
83.
Van BiezenI (2004) Political Parties as Public Utilities. Party Politics10 (6): 701–722.
84.
Van BiezenIMairPPoguntkeT (2012) Going, Going, . . . Gone? The Decline of Party Membership in Contemporary Europe. European Journal of Political Research51 (1): 24–56.
85.
Van Der HeijdenH (2002) Political Parties and NGOs in Global Environmental Politics. International Political Science Review23 (2): 187–201.
86.
Von Dem BergeBPoguntkeT (2017) Varieties of Intra-Party Democracy: Conceptualization and Index Construction. In: ScarrowSWebbPPoguntkeT (eds) Organizing Political Parties. Representation, Participation, and Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.136–157.
87.
Von dem BergeBPoguntkeTObertP, et al. (2013) Measuring Intra-party Democracy. A Guide for the Content Analysis of Party Statutes with Examples from Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. London: Springer.
88.
WheatonB (2007) Identity, Politics, and the Beach: Environmental Activism in Surfers against Sewage. Leisure Studies26 (3): 279–302.
89.
Political Party Act, Norway. Lov om visse forhold vedrørende de politiske partiene (partiloven).
90.
St.meld. nr. 27 (1996-1997). Om statens forhold til frivillige organisasjoner.
91.
The Norwegian Greens:
92.
Statutes 2012, 2016.
93.
MDG, 2016. Grønt skifte nå. Landsmøte2016 Oslo. [Congress documents, 2016]
94.
MDG, 2017. Ta vare på fremtiden. Landsmøte2017. [Congress documents 2017]
Green Party Executive (GPEx) Elections2017Notes and advice to prospective candidates, Proposers Form and Guidance.
110.
Green Activist, December2016.
111.
Constitution of the Green Party2016.
112.
How conference works’A Guide to Green Party Conferences, Autumn 2017.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
