The French Socialist Party: Membership between Closed and Open Primaries


Abstract


For some years now the clamor for democratisation of parties' internal functioning has been spreading across democracies. Among them, France has advanced impressively in the past few years. In 2006, the Socialist Party (PS) launched a closed primary to choose the socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal, for the 2007 presidential election. Approaching the 2012 presidential elections, the leftist coalition (PS and PRG) launched open primary elections to select its chief-executive candidates, with François Hollande finally emerging as a nominee. In this article, we shall examine how the socialist membership changed during the past three socialist congresses, analysing the outcome of the two above-mentioned primary elections. In particular, we shall observe the Le Mans (2005), Reims (2008) and Toulouse (2012) Congresses, and describe membership, participation, and competitiveness within the PS. The study was based on data collected from an administrative unit, the French départements.

DOI Code: 10.1285/i20356609v8i1p264

Keywords: France; membership; party congress; primary election; Socialist Party

References


Boix C. (2007), "The emergence of parties and party system", in C. Boix, S.C. Stokes (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press, pp.499-522.

Carey J.M., J. Polga-Hecimovich (2006), "Primary elections and candidate strength in Latin America", Journal of Politics, 68 (3), 530-543, doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2508.2006.00443.x.

Cross W., G. Rahat (2012), "The Pathologies of Party Primaries and their Possible Solutions", paper delivered to the ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops, Antwerp.

Crouch C. (2003), Postdemocrazia, Roma-Bari: Laterza.

Dalton R.J. (1984), "Cognitive Mobilization and Partisan Dealignment in Advanced Industrial Democracies", The Journal of Politics, 46 (1), 264-284, doi: 10.2307/2130444.

Dalton R.J., S. Flanagan, and P.A. Beck (eds. 1984), Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies: Realignment or Dealignment?, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Dalton R.J., M. Wattenberg(eds. 2000),PartieswithoutPartisans, Oxford:Oxford UniversityPress.

De Luca M. (2014), "Les électeurs socialistes dans les primaires présidentielles à Paris", French Politics, Culture & Society, 32 (2), 123-142, doi : 10.3167/fpcs.2014.320211.

Dolez B., A. Laurent (2007), "Une primaire à la française: la désignation de Ségolène Royal par le parti socialiste", Revue française de science politique, 57 (2), 133-161.

Epstein L.D. (1980), Political Parties in Western Democracies, New Brunswick (NJ): Transaction Publishers.

Fell D. (2013), "Impact of Candidate Selection Systems on Election Results: Evidence from Taiwan before and after the Change in Electoral Systems", The China Quarterly, 213, 152-171, doi: 10.1017/S0305741012001282.

Franklin M.N. (2004), Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies since 1945, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Franklin M.N., T. Mackie, H. Valen (eds. 1992), Electoral Change. Responses to Evolving Social and Attitudinal Structure in Western Countries, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hazan R. (2002), "Candidate selection", in L. LeDuc, R.G. Niemi, and P. Norris (eds.), Comparing democracies 2. New Challenges in the Study of Elections and Voting, London: Sage, pp. 108-126.

Hopkin J. (2001), "Bringing the members back in? Democratizing candidate selection in Britain and Spain", Party Politics, 7 (3), 343-361, doi: 10.1177/135406880.1007003005

Ichino N., N. Nathan (2013), "Do Primaries Improve Electoral Performance? Clientelism and Intra-Party Conflict in Ghana", American Journal of Political Science, 57 (2), 428-441, doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2012.00624.x.

Indriðason I.H., G.H. Kristinsson (2013), "Primary Consequences: The Effects of Candidate Se-lection through Party Primaries in Iceland", Party Politics, doi: 10.1177/1354068813487117.

Ion J. (1997), La fin des militants?, Paris: Editions de l'Atelier.

Ion J. (2001), L'engagement au pluriel, Saint-Étienne: Presses Universitaires de SaintÉtienne.

Ion J. (2012), S'engager dans une société d'individus, Paris: Armand Colin.

Katz R.S. (2001), "The Problem of Candidate Selection and Models of Party Democracy", Party Politics, 7 (3), pp. 277-296, doi: 10.1177/1354068801007003002.

Katz R.S., P. Mair (1994), How Parties Organize. Change and adaptation in party organization in western democracies, London: Sage.

Katz R.S., R. Kolodny (1994), "Party Organization as an Empty Vessel: Parties in American Politics", in R.S. Katz, P. Mair (eds.), How Parties Organize: Change and Adaptation in Party Organizations in Western Democracies, London: Sage, pp. 23-50.

Kenig O. (2008), "Democratization of party leadership selection: do wider selectorates produce more competitive contests?", Electoral Studies, 28 (2), 240–247, doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2008.11.001.

Laakso M., R. Taagepera (1979), "Effective Number of Parties. A Measure with Application to Western Europe", Comparative Political Studies, 12 (1), 3-27, doi: 10.1177/001041407901200101.

Lefebvre R. (2011), Les primaires socialiste. La fin du parti militant, Paris: Raison d'Agir.

Mair P. (1997), Party System Change: Approaches and Interpretations, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mair P., I. van Biezen (2001), "Party Membership in Twenty European Democracies, 1980–2000", Party Politcs, 7 (1), 5-21, doi: 10.1177/1354068801007001001.

Rae D.W. (1971), The Political Consequences of Electoral Laws, New Haven: Yale University Press.

Raniolo F. (2013), I partiti politici, Roma-Bari: Laterza.

Sawicki F. (1997), Les réseaux du Parti socialiste: sociologie d'un milieu partisan, Paris: Belin.

Scarrow S. (1996), Parties and their members: Organizing for victory in Britain and Germany, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Scarrow S. (2000), "Parties without members? Party organization in a changing electoral environment", in R. Dalton, M.P. Wattenberg (eds.), Parties without Partisans, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 79-101.

Spreafico A., J. La Palombara (eds. 1963), Elezioni e comportamento politico in Italia, Milano: Edizioni di comunità.

van Biezen I., P. Mair, and T. Poguntke (2011), "Going, going….gone? The decline of party membership in contemporary Europe", European Journal of Political Research, 51 (1), 24-56, doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6765.2011.01995.x.

Von Beyme K. (1996), Transition to Democracy in Eastern Europe, London: Macmillan

Ware A. (1987), Citizens, Parties, and the State: A Reappraisal, Cambridge: Polity Press.

Ware A. (1996), Political parties and party systems, Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press.

Webb P., D.M. Farrell D.M., I. Holiday (eds. 2002), Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies, Oxford: Oxford University Press.


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia License.