Campaigning and the Catch-All Party
The Process of Party Transformation in Britain
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6315445 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jennifer K Smith (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 555-572 |
| Publication date | 2009-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Party Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1354-0688 • E-ISSN: 1460-3683 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1354068809336396 |
| OpenAlex | W2072975721 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 28 |
Otto Kirchheimer’s well-known diagnosis of ‘catch-all’ partism in Western Europe rests on an implicit causal argument about the consequences of social change for political parties. This article takes up the causal story underlying Kirchheimer’s account and traces its implications for a specific, though central, party activity: campaigning. As Kirchheimer discerned, the transformation of advanced industrial societies radically altered the context of parties’ strategic decision-making. In the area of election campaigning, parties confronted heightened incentives to approach the electorate with ‘persuasive’ rather than more traditional ‘mobilizing’ appeals and developed a greatly increased demand for reliable information about voter preferences. These shifts, in turn, had consequences for party organization, promoting the centralization and marginalization of individual members Kirchheimer associates with the catch-all party type. Through the lens of campaign change, then, we can observe the causal processes that unite the diverse features Kirchheimer links to his catch-all party — although our attention is also drawn to ways in which party development has not conformed to Kirchheimer’s expectations. This article illustrates these intersecting processes with a discussion of Labour and Conservative campaigns in Britain
Argument (complex analysis · Context (archaeology · Economics · Incentive · Law and economics · Market economy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Social Policy and Reform Studies
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Politik in der digitalen Gesellschaft
Elite-centered regimes as barriers to meritocracy
Party organizational resources and election campaigns
Tragedy or farce? The repetition of Australian industrial relations history, 1929 and 2007
The electoral impact of grassroots activity in the 2012 local elections in Flanders
Strategic choices and electoral gains
Party change, social media and the rise of ‘citizen-initiated’ campaigning
Digital Media, Ground Wars and Party Organisation
Three Faces of Constituency Campaigns in Mixed-Member Electoral Systems. Parties and Candidates in Germany, 2005–13
How catchall parties compete ideologically
Election law violations as campaign effort
Parties' voter targeting strategies
Parties and Their Members
High-Intensity Participation
Electoral Strategies and Political Marketing
Political Change in Britain
Political Choice in Britain
An economic theory of democracy
Political Budget Cycles and the Organization of Political Parties
Political Change in Britain
The End of Class Politics?
The Secret Life of Class Voting
The Transformation of the Western European Party Systems
Politics, Media, and Modern Democracy
Social Structure and Electoral Behavior in Comparative Perspective
Local Party Campaigning and Electoral Mobilization in Britain
Constituency Campaigning in Britain 1992-2001
Are British Political Parties in Decline
Myths of electoral change and the survival of traditional parties
Partisan Dealignment in Britain 1964–1974
Hanging on the Telephone? Doorstep and Telephone Canvassing at the British General Election of 1997
Changing Models of Party Organization and Party Democracy
The relative electoral impact of central party co-ordination and size of party membership at constituency level
Winning the Local Vote
Looking Backward
| Unique citing works | 13 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2026 (14) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |