The organisational dimension of the party-interest group linkage in Portugal (2000-2015)

This paper investigates the connections between political parties and interest groups in a consolidated democracy of the third wave: Portugal. The main question this paper will attempt to answer is this: Have Portuguese political parties strengthened, weakened, or changed the nature of the ties with Portuguese interest groups since the beginning of the economic crisis? The analysis stems from the core argument of the cartelization thesis, the party-society eroded linkage and the entrenchment on the state, in order to investigate whether parties’ most representative functions have actually declined in favor of the institutional ones. Although the parties-interest groups’ relations have, with few exceptions, been overlooked by scholars, they are crucial for testing whether and how parties have loosened their bonds with societal groups or have replaced them in other forms. Drawing on a multi-dimensional perspective of party-interest groups’ relations and following the most recent research focused on other western democracies, the paper focuses on the organisational ties that allow the connections between the two actors. To this aim, the analysis relies mainly on official party documents (e.g. statutes; national congress motions, electoral platforms). Given that the paper investigates parties encompassing different ideological stances, organizational models and institutional positions (incumbent vis-à-vis opposition) a large variety of relation patterns as well as different kinds of groups involved are expected. The analysis will cover the last fifteen years (2000-2015) covering two distinct phases: the pre-crisis and economic crisis phase, which may have had significant implications for the relations between Portuguese parties and interest groups.