As a reaction to the erosion of political parties, citizens increasingly engage in participation independently from parties (such as boycotts, petitions and street demonstrations). Looking beyond the often-stated contradiction between party membership and these forms of non-institutionalized participation, we tried to determine whether party members participate in non-institutionalized participation as a complement or an alternative to their party membership activities. Based on the relative deprivation and civic voluntarism model, three party variables were selected: activity rate in the party, government status and ideological orientation of the party. The results of our analysis conducted on party members in 22 European countries show that the government status and the ideological position of a party have the largest effects on the propensity to participate in direct action. Activity rate does not have a significant effect, except a positive one for street demonstrations. In sum, direct action is not an alternative for dissatisfied party members, but rather a complement.
ArmstrongElizabeth ABernsteinMary (2008) Culture, Power and Institutions: A multi-institutional politics approach to social movements. Sociological Theory26(1): 74–99.
2.
BarnesSamuel HKaaseMax (1979) Political Action. Mass Participation in Five Western Democracies. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Publications.
3.
CaluwaertsDidier (2012) Confrontation and Communication: Deliberative Democracy in Divided Belgium. Brussels: PIE Peter Lang.
4.
CampbellAgnusGurinGeraldMillerWarren E (1954) The Voter Decides. Evanston: Row and Peterson.
5.
CitrinJack (1974) Comment: The political relevance of trust in government. American Political Science Review68(3): 973–988.
6.
CrossWilliamYoungLisa (2008) Factors Influencing the Decision of the Young Politically Engaged to Join a Political Party: An investigation of the Canadian case. Party Politics14(3): 345–369.
7.
DaltonRussell J (2009) The Good Citizen. How a Younger Generation is Reshaping American Politics. Washington DC: CQ Press.
8.
DaltonRussell JBürklinWilhelmDrummondAndrew (2001) Public opinion and direct democracy. Journal of Democracy12(4): 141–153.
9.
DaltonRussell JFarrellDavidMcAllisterIan (2011). Political Parties and Democratic Linkage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
10.
DonovanToddKarpJeffrey A (2006) Popular support for direct democracy. Party Politics12(5): 671–688.
11.
DrummondAndrew J (2006) Electoral volatility and party decline in Western democracies: 1970–1995. Political Studies54(3): 628–647.
12.
EdwardsBobMcCarthyJohn D (2004) Resources and Social Movement Mobilization. In SnowDavid ASouleSarah AKriesiHanspeter (eds) The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements. Oxford: Blackwell, 116–152.
13.
FatkeMatthias (2014) Allure or Alternative? Direct democracy and party identification. Party Politics20(2): 248–260.
GalaisCarol (2014) Don’t Vote for Them: The effects of the Spanish Indignant Movement on attitudes about voting. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties24(3): 334–350.
16.
GurrTedd (1970) Why Men Rebel. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
17.
HoogheMarcMariënSofie (2013) A comparative analysis of the relation between political trust and forms of political participation in Europe. European Societies15(1): 131–152.
18.
HustinxLesleyMeijsLucas CPMHandyFemidaCnaanRam A (2012) Monitorial Citizens or Civic Omnivores? Repertoires of civic participation among university students. Youth & Society44(1): 95–117.
19.
InglehartRonald (1990) Culture Shift in Advanced Industrial Society. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
20.
ISSP Research Group (2012) International Social Survey Programme: Citizenship - ISSP 2004. ZA3950 Data file Version 1.3.0. Cologne: GESIS Data Archive. Available at: https://dbk.gesis.org/dbksearch/sdesc2.asp?no=3950
21.
JenningsM Kentvan DethJan W (1990) Some Consequences for Systems and Governments. In JenningsM Kentvan DethJan W (eds) Continuities in Political Action. A Longitudinal Study of Political Orientations in Three Western Democracies. Berlin: De Gruyter, 349–371.
22.
KaaseMax (1990) Mass Participation. In JenningsM Kentvan DethJan W (eds) Continuities in Political Action. A Longitudinal Study of Political Orientations in Three Western Democracies. Berlin: De Gruyter, 23–66.
23.
KrouwelAndré (2006) Party Models. In KatzRichard SCrottyWilliam (eds) Handbook of Party Politics. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 248–269.
24.
LeDucLawrence (2001) Democratizing party leadership selection. Party Politics7(3): 323–341.
25.
LiYaojunMarshDavid (2008) New Forms of Political Participation: Searching for expert citizens and everyday makers. British Journal of Political Science38(2): 247–272.
26.
McAdamDougTarrowSidneyTillyCharles (2001) Dynamics of Contention. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
27.
MariënSofieHoogheMarcQuintelierEllen (2010) Inequalities in Non-institutionalized Forms of Political Participation. A multilevel analysis for 25 countries. Political Studies58(1): 187–213.
28.
MichelsRobert (1911) Zur Soziologie des Parteiwesens in der Modernen Demokratie: Untersuchungen über die Oligarchischen Tendenzen des Guppenlebens. Leipzig: Klinkhardt.
29.
MullerEdward NJukamThomas O (1983) Discontent and aggressive political participation. British Journal of Political Science13(2): 159–179.
30.
NeilsonLisa A (2010) Boycott or Buycott? Understanding political consumerism. Journal of Consumer Behaviour9(3): 214–277.
31.
NewtonKenneth (2006) Political Support. Social capital, civil society and political and economic performance. Political Studies54(4): 846–864.
32.
NiemiRichard GCraigStephen CMatteiFranco (1991) Measuring internal political efficacy in the 1988 national election study. The American Political Science Review85(4): 1407–1413.
33.
NorrisPippa (2007) Political Activism: New Challenges, New Opportunities. In BoixCarlesStokesSusan (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 628–652.
34.
NorrisPippaWalgraveStefaanVan AelstPeter (2005) Who Demonstrates? Antistate rebels, conventional participants, or everyone?Comparative Politics37(2): 189–205.
35.
ParryGeraintMoyserGeorgeDayNeil (1992) Political Participation and Democracy in Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
36.
PattieCharlesSeydPatrickWhiteleyPaul (2004) Citizenship in Britain. Values, participation and democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
37.
PiletJean-BenoitCrossWilliam (eds) (2014) The Selection of Political Party Leaders in Contemporary Parliamentary Democracies. London: Routledge.
38.
RahatGideonSheaferTamir (2007) The Personalization of Politics: Israel 1949–2003. Political Communication24(1): 65–80.
39.
ScarrowSusanGezgorBurcu (2010) Declining Memberships, Changing Members? European political party members in a new era. Party Politics16(6): 823–843.
40.
SloamJames (2013) ‘Voice and Equality’: Young people’s politics in the European Union. West European Politics36(4): 836–858.
41.
StolleDietlindHoogheMarcMichelettiMichele (2005) Politics in the Supermarket: Political consumerism as a form of political participation. International Political Science Review26(3): 245–269.
42.
TeorellJanSumPaulTobiasenMette (2007) Participation and Political Equality: An Assessment of Large-scale Democracy. In van DethJan WMonteroJosé RamónWestholmAnders (eds) Citizenship and Involvement in European Democracies. A Comparative Analysis. London and New York: Routledge, 384–414.
43.
Van AelstPeterWalgraveStefaan (2001) Who is that (Wo)man in the Street? From the normalisation of protest to the normalization of the protester. European Journal of Political Research39(4): 461–486.
44.
Van BiezenIngridMairPeterPoguntkeThomas (2012) Going, Going,…Gone? The decline of party membership in contemporary Europe. European Journal of Political Research51(1): 24–56.
45.
van DethJan W (2014) A conceptual map of political participation. Acta Politica49(3): 349–367.
46.
Van HauteEmilie (2010) Who Voices? Socialisation Process and Ideological Profile of Discontented Party Members. In Van HauteEmilie (ed.) Party Membership in Europe: Exploration into the Anthills of Party Politics. Brussels: Editions de l’université libre de Bruxelles, 169–185.
47.
VerbaSidneySchlozmanKayBradyHenry (1995) Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
48.
WautersBram (2014) Democratising Party Leadership Selection in Belgium: Motivations and decision-makers. Political Studies62(S1): 61–80.
49.
WebbPaul (2013) Who is Willing to Participate? Dissatisfied democrats, stealth democrats and populists in the United Kingdom. European Journal of Political Research52(6): 747–772.
50.
WhiteleyPaul (2011) Is the Party Over? The decline of party activism and membership across the democratic world. Party Politics17(1): 21–44.
51.
WoldendorpJaapKemanHansBudgeIan (2000) Party Government in 48 Democracies. Composition – Duration – Personnel. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
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.
