Sore losers? The costs of intra-party democracy

Bibliographic Data

ID6314712
AuthorsWilliam P Cro (0000-0002-1700-031X, Carleton University), William Cro, William Cross (0000-0003-0921-1464, Carleton University), Scott Pruyser (0000-0001-5557-0404, University of Calgary, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume25
Issue4
Pages483-494
Publication date2019-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueParty Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1354-0688 • E-ISSN: 1460-3683
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1354068817728216
OpenAlexW2753712221
LanguageEN
Citations received27
References cited63

Drawing upon the ‘satisfaction with democracy’ and ‘divisive primary’ literatures, this article examines how losers of intra-party elections respond to defeat and the consequences that these choices have on party organization and strength. In other words, do losers of intra-party elections continue to support the party or do they, like losers of general elections, feel less satisfied with democracy and withdraw their support (or even ‘exit’ the party)? Exploring rates of membership activism and satisfaction from a recent study of Canadian party members, this article demonstrates that losers of intra-party elections are more likely to exit the party, significantly less likely to remain active and engaged in party politics, and significantly more likely to report dissatisfaction with party membership. These findings suggest that parties must find a way of keeping losers engaged with the party

Communism · Democracy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Primary election · Realigning election · Single non-transferable vote · Socialism · Sociology · Split-ticket voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Politics and Representation · Law · Public Administration · Social Media and Politics

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