Ingrid van Biezen provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of party formation and organizational development in recently established democracies. She focuses on four democracies in Southern and East-Central Europe and addresses political parties from a cross-regional perspective. Featuring a wealth of new information on party organization, this book provides a valuable theoretical and empirical contribution to our understanding of political parties in both old and new democracies.
INGRID VAN BIEZEN is a Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the University of Birmingham. She has published on party organization, party membership and political finance and, in 1997, she received the Rudolf Wildenmann Prize of the European Consortium for Political Research.
Introduction PART I: FRAMEWORK The Path Towards Democracy: The Institutional Context of Party Formation Party Formation and Organizational Development: Opportunities and Constraints PART II: MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS AND PARTY STRUCTURES Portugal Spain Hungary The Czech Republic PART III: CROSS-NATIONAL PATTERNS On the Internal Balance of Power: The Extra-Parliamentary Party vs. the Party in the Public Office Financing Parties in New Democracies Patterns of Party Organization in New Democracies Endnotes References Index