Understanding Political Participation

Lynn Bennie is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen, UK.

• Contents: Introduction; The Greens in Scotland: a record of electoral events; Explaining participation: learning from social movement approaches; Who were the Scottish Greens in 1990?; How and why did the 1990 members join?; When the members joined: assessing the 1989/1990 joiner; The members in 1997; New members, old motives? Comparing Scottish Green Party members 1990 and 2002; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

'This pioneering study of members of the Scottish Green Party - which now has seven representatives in the Scottish Parliament - is a valuable addition to the small but growing number of empirically-based studies of party members in Britain. It is firmly grounded in theories of participation and also provides much fascinating material on the problems faced by small parties on the fringes of British politics. For students of green politics it is an indispensable work.' Professor David Denver, Lancaster University, UK 'This timely and thoroughly researched study of the Scottish Greens will not only be required reading for anybody interested in contemporary Scottish politics but its insights will also be of great interest to students of political behaviour across Europe and around the world.' Wolfgang Rüdig, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow 'It is meticulously researched...Bennie's final suggestion for future research is also sound...this is a readable book, well-written and containing many interesting facts...' europeananalysis.com 'By putting the development and likely future of the Scottish Greens within the context of decades of research about parties and social movements, Bennie gives us a valuable contribution to understanding those political entities.' British Politics Group Newsletter 'This book is highly recommended to individuals interested in political science, sociology and environment.' USI Journal