Candidate Selection in Post-Communist Europe: How and why did it change?

The selection of candidates for parliamentary elections on the national level is recognized to be one of the most important processes of intra-party democracy as it not only determines the quality of selected representatives but legislative results as well. On the one hand, it plays a major role in defining the functions of a political party. On the other hand, it also plays an important role in the context of the overarching democratic transformation process which took place in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) after 1989. Our contribution expands upon previous insights of studies dealing with the composition of elites for representation and the differences of candidate selection processes between parties and countries. A general view on the empirical dynamics of the inclusiveness of candidate selection processes of parties in CEE reveals that there are substantial differences between parties and that a transformation has taken place over time. Contrary to some of the previous research on CEE parties, our evidence suggests that there is no universal trend of parties towards remaining exclusive regarding their candidate selection processes. In view of this, the question that emerges is: to what extent did the inclusiveness of candidate selection process change and what are the factors driving these changes? In answering this question we are particularly interested in providing a comparative account of the factors that are relevant to an explanation of the differences in the inclusiveness of candidate selection processes of political parties in CEE countries.