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Photo of Jonathan Polk. Photo.

Jonathan Polk

Professor

Photo of Jonathan Polk. Photo.

Structuring Intra-Party Politics : A Mixed-Method Study of Ideological and Hierarchical Factions in Parties

Author

  • Ann-Kristin Kölln
  • Jonathan Polk

Summary, in English

Scholars acknowledge the existence of intra-party divisions and the potentially negative electoral effects of disunity. Some assume that intra-party divides are between professional politicians and grassroots members, others highlight the importance of ideological blocs. Yet, precisely mapping factional structures, especially ideological factions, is difficult because of the “black box of intra-party politics.” Based on theories of party change and spatial competition, we argue for the existence of two distinct ideological factional dimensions that may differ from hierarchical factions. We test our expectations by triangulating evidence from three unique datasets from Sweden: a survey of party members, a media content analysis, and interviews with politicians. Our mixed-methods approach allows identifying the number, structure, content, sizes, and ideological positions of factions. The results show substantial variation in all aspects and that hierarchical and ideological factions rarely coincide. These findings have important theoretical, conceptual, and methodological implications for comparative politics.

Department/s

  • Department of Political Science

Publishing year

2024

Language

English

Pages

1552-1585

Publication/Series

Comparative Political Studies

Volume

57

Issue

9

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Topic

  • Political Science

Keywords

  • political parties
  • qualitative methods
  • quantitative methods

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1552-3829