Tag: Ann-Kristin Kölln

Not all parties lose members but those that do are older and more institutionalised

Not all parties lose members but those that do are older and more institutionalised

Party membership is often cited as uniformly in decline across European democracies. However, this might be an untenable statement as a look at annual party-level data of 47 parties in six European countries between 1960-2010 reveals. Ann-Kristin Kölln argues that almost a quarter of the parties have not been losing members and that membership decline […]

Despite their manifest flaws, political parties improve democracy and it is implausible that it could be successful without them

Despite their manifest flaws, political parties improve democracy and it is implausible that it could be successful without them

Political parties are the gatekeeper to almost all democratic policies and offices. But they are often dismissed for only being interested in votes and not voters’ actual opinions. Citizens have become less partisan in the last decades. Perhaps it is time to get rid of them. Would we be better off without them? Not according […]