Indian Summer - Party Affiliation in the 21st Century

Abstract

Multi-speed membership parties are said to shift the boundaries of political parties by incorporating affiliates of all sorts into the narrative of membership. Building on this concept of a diverse, inclusive, and individually adaptive understanding of political party support, Indian Summer re-evaluates the relationship between polit- ical parties and individuals in the age of internet-based communication technologies and growing sociological diversification. Data of the accompanying population sur- vey of the 2017 German Party Members Survey is used to address questions of who it is that contributes to the success or breakdown of a party, what individuals do, and what the underlying demographic, motivational, and psychological patterns are. The study finds that non-membership based party affiliation plays a crucial role in 21st century party politics, especially due to the mass of affiliates compared to traditional members. Moreover, traditional party members and affiliates differ remarkably in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, which is especially impor- tant in the light of representative democracy. Additionally, it is argued that recent political parties’ bearing structure is best described using seven distinct types of affiliates. Due to the inner structure of affiliation types, this taxonomy challenges the multi-speed membership model and sees formal membership as the continuing center of gravity for political parties. Yet, profiles of more loosely linked affiliates indicate that parties may have to deal with eroding ties in the future and over-think their modus operandi, which might mirror the functions of US American parties in the future.