The Survival of the Mass Party: Centralisation, Rootedness and Control Among Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs) in Europe

The 20th century saw the rise of political parties characterised by large memberships organised in local branches. While it is now widely assumed that the era of these “mass parties” is over, several PRR parties are in fact still holding on to this organisation model: they are present on the ground, focus on shaping people’s identities, and seek to involve members in a variety of activities. Drawing on Phase 1 of a new comparative research project focusing on populist party organisation in Western Europe, this paper maps the formal and informal organisational structures of four PRR parties: the League in Italy, the Flemish Interest in Belgium, the Finns Party, and the Swiss People's Party. Through an analysis of party literature (websites, manifestos, statutes), secondary sources and interviews with key informants, we compare these parties’ institutional structures, and degrees of centralisation. We will show to what extent personalisation and centralisation have helped manage organisational tensions and changes of leadership, and how party elites have reinforced their own power through formal organisational structures and informal influence. As a provisional conclusion, we offer some reflection on the role of the leader and the importance of an efficient party organisation in populist parties today.