The workshop seeks to provide an epistemological yet empirically grounded reflection on the field of democratic politics. Specifically, it will address three key questions: (1) are we witnessing a decline in the centrality of parties as the primary focus of democratic politics research?, (2) does this indicate the need for a paradigm shift, or is it merely an extension of the existing paradigm to include 'anomalies'?, and, perhaps more intriguingly, (3) if the 'party paradigm' is in decline, what should replace it?
As scholars who have spent decades working within the boundaries of the party paradigm, it is crucial that we critically examine the foundational assumptions that have shaped our research. Such an investigation can offer valuable insights not only to those studying parties but also to related fields such as comparative institutions, legislative studies, electoral and coalitional politics, and democratic innovations. In addition, the research presented at this workshop will be of interest to scholars who study the epistemological, theoretical, philosophical, and sociological foundations of political science.
Elstub, Stephen, and Oliver Escobar (2019) Handbook of Democratic Innovations and Governance. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Friedman, Avital, and Gideon Rahat (Forthcoming) "The Elections in Israel Book Series as a Test Case: Does the Research Reflect the Personalization of Israeli Politics or Does It Adhere to the Party Politics Paradigm?" in Gideon Rahat, Noam Gidron and Michal Shamir (eds.), The Elections in Israel 2022.
Gerbaudo, Paulo (2019) The Digital Party: Political Organisation and Online Democracy. London: Pluto Press.
Kuhn, Thomas S. (1962) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Pearson, Sidney E. (2004) "Transaction Introduction: E. E. Schattschneider and the Quarrel Over Parties," in American Democracy in Party Government: American Government in Action. New York: Routledge, pp. ix-lviii.
Petrov, Jan (2023) (De-)judicialization of politics in an era of populism: lessons from Central and Eastern Europe. London: Routledge.
Rahat, G., 2024. "Collegial versus personal political parties," in C. Friedberg and Godeon Rahat (eds.) Collegial Democracy versus Personal Democracy: 'We' the People or 'I' the People? pp. 16-40.
Sikk, Allan, and Philipp Köker (2023) Party People: Candidates and Party Evolution Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Schattschneider, Elmer (1942/2004) Party Government: American Government in Action. New York: Routledge.
1: How did the party paradigm become so entrenched?
2: Is the party paradigm still central to the field, both theoretically and empirically, or is its influence waning?
3: Are parties still the dominant actors in democratic processes, or have other forces begun to take precedence?
4: Can the paradigm be stretched, or is it becoming an impediment to understanding contemporary democratic trends?
5: Is the field of democratic politics ready for a paradigm shift, and what would be the implications?
| Title |
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| The Party Paradigm and Democratic Political Representation |
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| Do they care about us? How parties get in touch with citizens abroad |
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| Who to entrust with political power? (Pre)-Selection criteria for party leaders |
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| Can the two walk together? A cross-country analysis of institutional personalism in parliaments and electoral systems |
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| Politics Remains a Team Sport: On the Continued Relevance of Studying Party Organization |
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| Do parties remain central claim makers of social groups? A comparative analysis of parliamentary debates from 11 countries (1960-2024) |
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| 30 years of party scholarship |
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| Party Research and Party Support Aid: Conflicting Visions of How Parties Function? |
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| Navigating the Shift: Party Mobilization in the Era of Direct Democracy. An Analysis of Parties’ Role in Local Referendums in Flanders (Belgium). |
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| For those without a clue. Party cues versus leader cues in a partitocratic system under pressure. |
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| Political Parties after the Transition to the Authoritarian Presidential System in Turkey: Increasing or Decreasing Importance of Parties? |
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| Bringing People Back In: From an Organisational to an Evolutionary Paradigm in Party Studies |
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| Is the party paradigm over |
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| Research Priorities, Funding Outcomes and the Study of Party Democracy |
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| A technocratic zeitgeist? Testing if political parties are using more technocratic rhetoric in parliamentary debates |
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| An Anti-Party Politics: The Institutional Weakness of Political Parties in Iran |
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| Party and PPG: Still competing principals for MPs on social media? |
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| A social network analysis of the field of party politics |
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| Wither the party cartel? Resilient electoral markets and collusion between political parties and powerful interests. |
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