Conceptualizing Intra-Party Democracy: Implementing Democracy in Voluntary Organizations

Reforms to democratize political parties have been observed in many Western democracies. Yet attempts to evaluate their effects have proven difficult. Some scholars consider this trend as a beneficial empowerment of rank-and-file members, others as empowerment of elites by undermining party activists. This paper explores the implications of two problems that nourish such distinct readings: first, there is no consensus with regard to the democratic values (e.g. inclusiveness of decision-making, accountability of elites, representativeness, power-sharing) to be realized by the various mechanisms associated with ‘intra-party democracy’. Second, mechanisms which realize (however defined) democratic values within a nation state, do not necessarily have the same effects when operating within voluntary organizations, a setting which members can freely enter and exit. In a first step this paper distinguishes basic visions of democracy, the core values they rest upon and the basic requirements for democratic procedures implied by them. In a second step, the trade-offs are discussed that emerge when these procedures operate in the context of voluntary organizations rather than nation states. This is done with a particular focus on party primaries, a mechanism that has been adopted by parties in a variety of forms and – depending on the vision of democracy we choose as our yardstick - can be considered a useful or, in the opposite, counterproductive instrument to foster intra-organizational democratization.