In person icon Anticipation, Political Party Loyalty and Partisanship

Abstract

The recent development of studies and approaches in the field of Anticipatory Studies points to the need to cross scientific areas and sub-areas and to dialogue between contributions aimed at deepening the study of the phenomenon of party loyalty and partisanship and its impact/influence on electoral processes. The main objective is to feed the research around a central problem: how can we frame and use anticipatory studies to understand and contribute to the study of party loyalty and the evolution of militant action in the context of the internal organization and action of political parties? In a sequential and interconnected way, the aim of this panel is to ensure a debate and reflection on party militancy, the evolution and central characteristics of the involvement of militants in political parties and the impact of party loyalty on the process of gaining, maintaining and exercising power. 1. How to study political party loyalty and partisanship within the scope of the anticipatory studies? The scope and broadening of studies in the field of political science has been reflected in the creation of multiple sub-areas and cross-approaches to the study of political and social phenomena and facts, both in the traditional aspect of the central object of study of political science (power or the state) and in the multiple spaces where power manifests itself. The affirmation and consolidation of studies in the field of political parties constitutes a space of its own in the development of political science, both because of the role and functions performed by political parties and because of the internal dynamics of these political organisations and their adaptation to the current democratic framework and to the new technologies and new mechanisms for exercising party militancy and developing political action. In this panel we invite proposals that address, from the perspective of anticipatory studies, the multiple dynamics of the functioning of political parties, with special emphasis on the role of party loyalty and the impact of party-political action on electoral results, as well as the various fields of action of political parties, on a path between tradition and the new digital spaces. The aim of the Anticipatory Studies is to contribute to the presentation of theoretical and empirical studies aimed at deepening knowledge of intra-party dynamics, both from an organisational and structural point of view, and from the point of view of the actions of political agents. The use of the theoretical and methodological dimension corresponds to the challenge of bringing together contributions that ensure the study, systematisation, comparison and detailed description of the contribution of the perspective of Anticipatory Studies to the development of studies focusing on party militancy and loyalty. To achieve the objectives proposed in this section we have the following questions: Q1. What is the intrinsic nature of parties that guarantees their survival in a context of profound changes in political dynamics and citizen involvement in the public arena? Q2. What elements are decisive for the study of how parties adapt their actions to the new environment of ideological polarisation and the multiple roles played by citizens in society? Q3. What is the political parties' strategy for attracting and retaining party activists and militants and retaining voter loyalty? Q4. To what extent are party loyalty and militancy decisive variables in influencing electoral results? Q5. What is the impact of digitalisation, new information networks and artificial intelligence on the emergence of new political forces and on the performance of traditional political parties? Q6. How could Anticipatory Studies help determine the new group of militants and their action in the political system?

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