From May’s Laws to May’s legacy
On the opinion structure within political parties
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6315552 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joop Jm Van Holsteyn (Leiden University, The Netherlands, corresponding author), Josje M Den Ridder (The Netherlands Institute for Social Research, the Netherlands), Ruud Koole (Leiden University), Ruud A Koole (Leiden University, The Netherlands) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 471-486 |
| Publication date | 2017-09-01 |
| 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 | 10.1177/1354068815603242 |
| OpenAlex | W2413590937 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 32 |
| References cited | 47 |
For over 40 years now, the debate on the hierarchical opinion structure within political parties has been colored by May’s laws of General and Special curvilinear disparity. Their essence is that, compared to non-leaders and top leaders, the mid-level of sub-leaders of parties consists of radicals as regards their ideological, substantive positions. Persistent as this vision is, however, there have been few comprehensive empirical tests. In this paper such a test is employed for Dutch parties, consisting of: a) a comparison of average positions on issues and in terms of left and right of voters, members and MPs; b) a comparison of the full opinion distributions on particular political issues for these groups; and c) an exploration of perceptions among top leaders and sub-leaders of the opinion structure within their party. We conclude that there is not enough support to uphold May’s laws any longer. His laws should be dismissed, but May’s legacy should consist of a more open study of the opinion structures of parties, which are still crucial actors in Western representative democracies
Epistemology · Ideology · Law and economics · Perception · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Test (biology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Deliberative democracy and political parties
Party research and party support aid
Social media partisans vs. party members
Great minds think alike? Ideological congruence between party members and leadership candidates
May’s Law in changing times—an empirical assessment of the German case
Analyzing ideological disparities in multi-speed membership parties
When do parties put Europe in the centre? Evidence from the 2019 European Parliament election campaign
Bringing agency back into the study of partisan politics
The intra-party bargain over ministerial appointments
Do more inclusive parties change less? Intraparty democracy and programmatic change
Exploring class identification among Finnish party members
Party Reforms and Electoral Systems
Participating Locally and Nationally
Are Political Staffers out of Touch with Grassroots Party Members? Assessing Congruence between Professionals and Volunteers
The Death of May’s Law
The Personalization of Electoral Rules
Inclusivity and Decentralisation of Candidate Selectorates
Intra-party conflict at grassroots
May’s law may prevail
The odd one out
Rethinking intra-party cohesion
Radical or aligned? Assessing issue congruence between youth wing elites, parliamentary candidates and voters in Norway
More than opinion expression
Social and ideological representativeness
The consequences of membership incentives
Does policy motivation drive party activism? A study of party activists in three Asian democracies
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and Immigration Policies
Young radicals, moderates and aligned
Structuring Intra-Party Politics
Fifty Shades of Green? Political differences between elites, members and supporters ofEurope Ecologie Les Verts
Membership vote for party leadership changes
The Crisis of Party Democracy, Cognitive Mobilization, and the Case for Making Parties More Deliberative
Party Organizations
An economic theory of democracy
Political Parties
Political Parties in Western Democracies
West European Politics in the Age of Globalization
Going, going, . . . gone? The decline of party membership in contemporary Europe
The Strain of Representation
How Democracy Works
Patterns of democracy
Party Discipline and Parliamentary Government
New forms of political participation. Changing demands or changing opportunities to participate in political parties
Fortuyn's Legacy
Scientific Progress, Educated Guesses or Speculation? On Some Old Predictions with Respect to Electoral Behaviour in the Netherlands
Electoral Volatility and the Dutch Party System
In the Eye of the Beholder
Dutch Voters and the Changing Party Space 1989–2006
The Road from a Depoliticized to a Centrifugal Democracy
Declining memberships, changing members? European political party members in a new era
Intra-Party Democracy and Party Responsiveness
Never a dull moment
Losing Touch? The Political Representativeness of Swedish Parties, 1985–1994
Are Party Activists the Party Extremists? The Structure of Opinion in Political Parties
The Blind Corner of Political Representation
The Origin and Meaning of Miles' Law
The Internal Politics of Parties
Pragmatists, Ideologues and the General Law of Curvilinear Disparity
Opinion Structure of Political Parties
Democratising Party Leadership Selection in Belgium
The Structure of Opinion in American Political Parties
May's Law of Curvilinear Disparity Revisited
Analysing multiparty competition in plurality rule elections
Who selects the party leader
Does the mode of candidate selection affect the representativeness of parties
Compulsory Voting Legislation
Putting Parties in Their Place
Ideological Congruence and Electoral Institutions
The Impact of Religion on the Space of Competition
Mobilising volunteer activists in political parties
The Cartel Party Thesis
Changing Models of Party Organization and Party Democracy
Democracy, Organization, Michels
The Two-party System and Duverger's Law
| Unique citing works | 32 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,56 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2026 (10) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 32 |