Political parties fulfil an essential role in a representative democracy, creating a direct link between its people and the political system.
Politics and Governance
EUR-Lex is your online gateway to EU Law. It provides the official and most comprehensive access to EU legal documents. It is available in all of the EU’s 24 official languages and is updated daily.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
Advancing democracy worldwide, as a universal human aspiration and an enabler of sustainable development, through support to the building, strengthening and safeguarding of democratic political institutions and processes at all levels.
Council of Europe; European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG)
The European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) is the Council of Europe intergovernmental forum where representatives of the member States meet to develop European standards (recommendations, guidelines, reports), to exchange and follow up on the state of democratic governance in Europe, and to work together to strengthen democratic institutions at all levels of government.
Council of Europe, European Commission for Democracy through Law - Venice Commission
The role of the Venice Commission is to provide legal advice to its member states and, in particular, to help states wishing to bring their legal and institutional structures into line with European standards and international experience in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.(...).The Venice Commission is also working on the question of political parties and their funding, which play a fundamental role in democratic life.
Democracy and the Entanglement of Political Parties and the State: Party–State Relations in 20th-Century France, Italy, and Germany; Pepijn Corduwener; Comparative Political Studies; 2020; Volume 53; Issue 1; pp. 40–70
This article makes a plea for a historical turn in the study of party–state relations. Building on recent insights on the role of political parties in institution-making which have emerged in the historical sciences, it suggests that the deployment of a historical institutionalist perspective can tackle the difficulties in isolating the causal mechanisms and identifying empirical indicators of party–state entanglement, which stand at the foreground of political science studies into the contemporary crisis of democracy in the West. (...)
Presidential Elections and European Party Systems (1848–2020); Fernando Casal Bértoa, Till Weber; British journal of political science, 2024-07, Volume 54; Issue 3; pp.874-891
Political scientists have long been concerned that a popularly elected presidency may destabilize competitive party systems. We develop and test a new theory holding that the impact is more immediate and severe than previously assumed. Coexisting legislative and presidential coalitions first and foremost impede the evolution of predictable party interactions at the executive level, which is the domain of the cabinet. (…)
The Mobilizing Effect of Party System Polarization. Evidence From Europe; Fabio Ellger; Comparative political studies; 2024-07; Volume 57; Issue 8; pp.1310-1338
Does party system polarization mobilize voters? Polarization is increasingly shaping democratic competition across Europe. While often perceived to be negative, polarization can be an effective remedy against voter disengagement. This paper investigates two distinct, but often conflated mechanisms, which could explain why polarization leads to mobilization. Spatial polarization of parties diversifies electoral options at the ballot, while affective polarization mobilizes based on emotional considerations.(…)
Are party families in Europe ideologically coherent today?; Nicolas de la Cerda, Jacob R. Gunderson; European journal of political research, 2024-08; Volume 63; Issue 3; pp.1208-1226
Researchers classify political parties into families by their shared cleavage origins. However, as parties have drifted from the original ideological commitments, it is unclear to what extent party families today can function as effective heuristics for shared positions. We propose an alternative way of classifying parties based solely on their ideological positions as one solution to this challenge.
Political group formation in the European parliament: Negotiating democracy and gender; Petra Ahrens, Johanna Kantola ; Party politics, 2023-09, Volume 29; Issue 5; pp.817-828
Political group formation in the European Parliament (EP) after European elections is a core feature of supranational party politics. The research objective of this article is to scrutinise democratic practices and the role of values, more specifically gender equality, in this political group formation. Complementing extant literature, this article engages with gendered political group formation as a dynamic process consisting of three intertwined layers, which are assessed by analysing formal and informal institutions around democracy and gender. (...)
All about the money? A cross-national study of parties’ relations with trade unions in 12 western democracies; Elin Haugsgjerd Allern et al.; Party Politics; 2021; Volume 27; Issue 3; pp. 407–417
This article examines political parties’ approach to trade unions and the role of private and public party finance in contemporary democracies. We suggest that both unions’ direct donations and states’ party finance regimes may account for variation in the strength of parties’ organizational links to unions. We investigate this argument with a new data set covering parties historically aligned with trade unions and union confederations in 12 mature democracies. Our empirical analysis provides support for the hypothesis that financial contributions are positively associated with stronger organizational links but also suggests that this relationship is constrained by the level of public subsidies and state regulation of donations. The findings point to the need for more research on how private and public money affects parties’ interactions with civil society actors.
Political groups over national parties: Measuring the Europeanization of the political arena through MEPs Twitter interactions; Livia van Vliet, Juliana Chueri, Petter Törnberg, Justus Uitermark; Party politics; 2023
The question of the democratic character of the European Union (EU) has been a center-point of decades of political research. An important critique suggests that the development of the European political arena is still incomplete, with European parliamentarians primarily orienting themselves to national issues and politicians, implying a problematic mismatch between the political arena and their policy jurisdiction. Research has however been limited by methodological difficulties of capturing the level of Europeanization of the political arena. This paper contributes a novel method for measuring Europeanization by studying interactions from the European parliament to their national parliamentarians on Twitter in 15 EU countries. Contrary to expectations in the literature, we find substantial Europeanization of the political arena. The level of Europeanization furthermore varies greatly across countries and political groups. This has important implications on the debate on EU’s democratic deficit, as communication across different levels of parliament indicates democratic debate.
Eurosceptic, polarized or undecided? How party politicization may shape the structure of public attitudes towards European integration; Morgan Le Corre Juratic, Mariana Carmo Duarte; Alban Versailles
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The Politicization of the European Union From Processes to Consequences
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The Europeanization of Belgian parties: Both near and far?; Louise Hoon, Gilles Pittoors
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Belgian Exceptionalism: Belgian Politics between Realism and Surrealism
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Challenger Parties and Populism; Catherine E. De Vries, Sara B. Hobolt
In
Populism: Origins and Alternative Policy Responses
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No Money, No Party: The Role of Political Parties in Electoral Campaigns; Chiara Destri
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Wealth and Power
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Reconnecting European Political Parties with European Union Citizens, Steven van Hecke et al.; International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance; International IDEA Discussion Paper 6/2018
A smarter funding system for European parties; Louis Drounau; The Austrian Society for European Politics; 28 January 2021
Seventy years of transnational political groups in the European Parliament: Origins and trajectories; Wolfram Kaiser, Jürgen Mittag; Brefing; European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS); December 2023
The creation and formalisation of the European Parliament's political groups goes back to June 1953 and the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community's Common Assembly. This briefing analyses the evolution of the groups' structures and trajectories until the European elections in 2019. It shows how the conflict between national, political and transnational ideological allegiances of delegated Members of the Common Assembly was already present from the start, providing an important impetus for the formalisation of the political groups. This formalisation created the basis for the groups' key role in structuring the work of the Common Assembly and later of the European Parliament. The European Parliament's competence for its own budget meanwhile made the groups' formalisation imperative to allow the distribution of funds for office space, secretariats and policy-making resources. The structure and power distribution among the groups has remained relatively stable to the present day.
Towards a revision of the Regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and foundations; Edoardo Bessanelli; Study; European Parliament; DG IPOL; March 2022
This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, provides an in-depth analysis of the key proposed changes to Regulation 1141/2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and foundations. It assesses the extent to which the reformed regulation strengthens, as per art. 10(4) TEU, the capacity of Europarties to contribute to forming a European political awareness and expressing the will of EU citizens.
Statute and funding of European political parties under Regulation 1141/2014; Irmgard Anglmayer; Study; European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS); June 2021
European political parties are transnational political alliances made up of national parties from the same political family. Since July 2004, they have been able to receive funding from the EU general budget. The current Regulation 1141/2014, applicable since 2017, tightened the requirements for parties' recognition, funding and spending. Yet, some parties (and their affiliated foundations) found loopholes in the legal framework. Targeted amendments to the regulation adopted in 2018 and 2019 sought, inter alia, to prevent misuse of public funds, enhance the role of European parties in the European public space, and safeguard the integrity of the European elections by sanctioning breaches of the rules on the protection of personal data. This study examines the operation of the legal framework, ahead of the legislative revision announced by the European Commission in its 2021 work programme, and in support of the evaluation report currently undertaken by the AFCO committee.
European political parties and the European Council: A pattern of ever closer coordination?; Ralf Drachenberg; Study; European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS); April 2022
The role of the European political parties, often under-estimated in the past, has increased significantly over the years. Today, they are important coordinators within the EU political system, carrying out a variety of activities that can be classified conceptually as ‘vertical’, ‘horizontal’ and ‘diagonal’ coordination. This EPRS study explores the growing 'politicisation' of the European Council and the increased coordination role which European political parties appear to play in the context of the European Council. The parties’ main coordination activities are clearly their respective 'pre-summits', held just ahead of European Council meetings. These pre-summits serve multiple purposes for the parties – including coordinating positions for the imminent European Council discussions, long-term strategising, communication, socialising and networking – with the importance of each varying between the different parties. A case study looking at the nomination of the EU’s new institutional leadership in 2019 illustrates the importance of the European political parties’ role in coordinating between EU leaders in the European Council.
More from European Parliament Think Thank on Political Parties
The content of all documents contained in the Think Tank website is the sole responsibility of the author and any opinions expressed therein do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. It is addressed to the Members and staff of the EP for their parliamentary work.
Legislative Train - Revision of Regulation on statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations
The ‘Legislative Train Schedule’ website – offering a detailed state-of-play on upcoming initiatives, legislative proposals and procedures already finalised, as well as issues blocked or files withdrawn – continues to present new European Commission initiatives using the railway image. The aim is to facilitate the followup by all Members, Parliament staff and a broader public audience of the legislative and non-legislative activity of the EU institutions.
The Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations has been established for the purpose of registering, controlling and imposing sanctions on European Political Parties and European Political Foundations pursuant to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations.
Les partis et l’Europe: Européanisation des programmes ou nationalisation des enjeux européens?; Emiliano Grossman, Simon Persico, Isabelle Guinaudeau; Politique européenne; 2019; Volume 64; pp. 56-85
Cet article s’interroge sur l’Européanisation de la compétition partisane. Depuis les années 1990, des débats ont émergé concernant l’effet de l’intégration européenne sur la vie politique nationale. Pendant longtemps, ces effets ont été considérés comme faibles, les clivages politiques nationaux parvenant à absorber les questions européennes dans le clivage gauche droite. Nous revenons ici sur ce débat en examinant la politisation des enjeux européens à travers leur traitement dans les programmes électoraux. Nous nous concentrons sur les programmes pour les élections législatives à partir d’un jeu de données nouveau relatif au profil thématique des discours programmatiques européens, constitués dans le cadre du Comparative Agendas Project. Nous montrons que l’hypothèse classique de l’absorption des enjeux européens par des clivages nationaux doit être modérée. Nos trois cas – l’Allemagne, la France et le Royaume-Uni – illustrent en effet des modalités de politisation des enjeux européens assez contrastés, avec une part très variable des « enjeux constitutifs » liés à l’architecture et à la légitimité de l’UE par rapport aux enjeux d’action publique. Cette recherche exploratoire confirme donc l’importance d’une prise en compte de la substance des problèmes politisés en lien avec l’intégration européenne.
L’argent en politique : Rémunération des élus et financements des partis en Europe; Frédéric Monier; Cahiers Jaurès; 2020; Volume 235-236; Numéro 1-2; pp. 3-13
L’introduction à ce dossier thématique sur la rémunération des élus constate que les enquêtes de première main, reposant sur des sources documentaires, font défaut dans la plupart des pays européens. La question, plus complexe que ce que l’on imagine, éclaire le rapport entre politique et argent, entre rémunération et projets démocratiques. Différentes configurations apparaissent. Dans le cas français, l’indemnité parlementaire créée en 1789, souvent caractérisée comme une norme démocratique, mérite une étude attentive, y compris en scrutant la genèse d’avantages matériels liés au mandat. Par contraste, la situation en Espagne est marquée par la prégnance d’une vision libérale et conservatrice de la fonction de député comme honneur. L’évolution amorcée au tout début du XIXe siècle, ensuite battue en brèche, ne put s’affirmer qu’avec la Deuxième République, après 1931. Enfin, l’étude du cas roumain montre une configuration différente : la rémunération des députés, instituée en 1866, n’y visait ni une plus grande ouverture des formes de sélection du personnel politique, ni la professionnalisation des acteurs. Il s’agissait plutôt d’un ressort financier « systémique ».
Partis de gouvernement et transformation des systèmes de clivages; Pierre Martin; Pouvoirs; 2021; Numéro 179; pp. 59-69
Si le déclin des partis de gouvernement en Europe occidentale depuis les années 1970 est pour une part lié à l’apparition de nouveaux enjeux et de nouveaux clivages, il résulte principalement du recul de la croissance économique, de l’augmentation des attentes de la population envers l’État et du développement de comportements contestataires. Ces transformations économiques et sociales ont fortement affaibli la capacité des gouvernants à prendre des décisions légitimes aux yeux des citoyens.
I partiti politici a livello europeo: verso una complessa genesi dell’organizzazione democratica interna; Carmen Ranalli; DPCE Online; 2021; [S.l.]; Volume 46; Number 1
European political parties: towards a complex genesis of internal democratic management. - The article analyzes the internal discipline of parties in Europe, in close relationship with national political parties and their crisis. The main steps are the EU representative model, the role of political groups and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, also in its recent changes in orientation, and the events that have contributed to the strengthening of the European Parliament. The conclusions highlight the need for a revision of the internal discipline of national parties: this process, in addition to increasing the perception that citizens would have towards the parties themselves would also entail a strengthening of the European framework.
Partis politiques européens : Des objets politiques mal identifiés ?
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Les partis politiques jouent un rôle central dans les démocraties libérales contemporaines : ce sont des courroies de transmission essentielles entre les citoyens et la prise de décision politique et de sélection des candidats. Vu leur rôle au niveau national, il n’est pas étonnant que l’on se soit tourné vers les partis politiques comme solution au déficit démocratique dont souffre l’Union européenne (UE).
Des « partis politiques au niveau européen » ? État des lieux à la veille des élections européennes de juin 2009
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A quelques jours des élections européennes, cette étude se penche sur des organisations politiques encore mal connues : les « partis politiques au niveau européen ». Souvent confondus avec les groupes politiques du Parlement européen, ces « europartis » n’ont été reconnus que très récemment, par le Traité de Maastricht et deux règlements communautaires qui leur ont conféré un statut et un financement propres depuis 2003. Le but est ici de faire le point sur ces organisations, leur développement et les enjeux qui les entourent. A l’heure où certains prônent une plus grande « politisation » de l’Union européenne, quel rôle veut-on faire jouer à ces « europartis » ? Sont-ils un nouvel échelon partisan en cours d’achèvement ou ne doit-on voir en eux qu’un instrument de légitimation d’élites européennes en quête de reconnaissance ? Cette étude tente d’apporter quelques éléments nouveaux dans ce débat.
Partis politiques : Archives historiques des partis politiques numérisées et disponibles sur Gallica
The Robert Schuman Foundation that was founded in 1991 after the fall of the Berlin Wall has been approved by the State for its services to the public; it works to promote the construction of Europe. The Foundation is a reference research centre and develops studies on the European Union and its policies, promoting the content of these in France, Europe and elsewhere in the world. It encourages, contributes to and stimulates European debate thanks to the wealth of its research, publications and the organisation of conferences. (...)
The “Fondation pour l’innovation politique” (Fondapol) is a French think tank that has been contributing to pluralist thought and a renewal of public debate since its founding in 2004. We believe our democracy must increasingly rely on individual responsibility rather than government control. We are therefore determined to promote freedom in every area of public life. (...)
At the Jacques Delors Centre, academic research goes hand in hand with the development of concrete ideas for future-oriented EU policies.
Party Facts - a database of political parties worldwide
The Party Facts project is a gateway to empirical data about political parties and a modern online platform about parties and their history as recorded in social science datasets. It makes use of social media technologies to create a collaborative data infrastructure following an approach to collect data successfully applied by the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL).
Parties and Elections in Europe - the database about parliamentary elections and political parties, Wolfram Nordsieck
Parties and Elections in Europe provides a comprehensive database about political parties, elections and governments. The website contains the results of legislative elections from more than 100 countries and autonomous regions in Europe. The parties are classified according to their political orientation. Historical data can be found in the archive.
The Representative Democracy Data Archive (REPDEM)
REPDEM presents the comparative data collection efforts undertaken by various research and data infrastructure projects on governments, parliaments, political parties, length of government formation periods, bargain rounds, procedures and mechanisms for intra-coalition governance, and government duration and termination.
European Party Politics in Times of Crisis
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This comprehensive study of party competition in Europe since 2008 aids understanding of the recent, often dramatic, changes taking place in European politics. It addresses how the multiple crises that Europe faces have affected the intensity and structure of party competition, and whether we are seeing a wave of 'critical elections' which will reshape European politics for years to come. The geographical scope of the book covers fifteen European countries, including cases from North-Western Europe (Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland), Southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain), and Central-Eastern Europe (Hungary, Latvia, Poland, and Romania). Using original data from a large-scale content analysis of mass media, and the debates among parties in election campaigns, this book provides clear graphical presentations of the results, appealing to a wide readership of students, scholars, journalists, practitioners, and the politically interested public.
Comparative European Party Systems
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Comparative European Party Systems, Second Edition, provides a comprehensive analysis across 48 party systems of party competition, electoral systems and their effects, and the classification of party systems and governments from 1945 through late-2018. The book consists of three parts. Part I provides a comparative and quantitative overview of party systems according to party families, patterns of party competition, electoral systems and their effects, and classification of party systems and governments. Part II consists of 38 detailed country profiles of longstanding democracies and of the European Union (plus nine profiles on regions such as in Spain and the UK), providing essential detail on the electoral systems, parties, party patterns and systems, dimensions of political competition, and governments. Part III provides an analysis of 10 additional country profiles of oscillating regimes such as Russia, Ukraine, and Balkan and Transcaucasus states. Comparative European Party Systems provides an excellent overview of topical issues incomparative election and party system research and presents a wealth of information and quantitative data. It is a crucial reference for scholars and students of European and comparative politics, elections, electoral systems, and parties and party systems.
Opposition Parties in European Legislatures
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Democratic theory considers it fundamental for parties in government to be both responsive to their electorate and responsible to internal and international constraints. But recently these two roles have become more and more incompatible with Mair's growing divide in European party systems between parties which claim to represent, but don't deliver, and those which deliver, but are no longer seen to represent truer than ever. This book contains a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the behaviour of the opposition parties in eleven European democracies across Western and East Central Europe. Specifically, it investigates the parliamentary behaviour of the opposition parties, and shows that the party context is increasingly diverse. It demonstrates the emergence of two distinct types of opposition: one more cooperative, carried out by the mainstream parties (those with government aspirations), and one more adversarial focusing on government scrutiny rather than on policy alternatives (parties permanently excluded from power). It systematically and analytically explores the sources of their behaviour, whilst acknowledging that opposition is broader than its mere parliamentary behaviour. Finally, it considers the European agenda and the economic crisis as two possible intervening variables that might have an impact on the opposition parties' behaviour and the government-opposition relations. As such, it responds to questions that are major concerns for the European democracies of the new millennium. This text will be of key interest to students and scholars of political parties, European politics, comparative politics and democracy.
Liberal Parties in Europe
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This book investigates how liberal parties have evolved over time as a party family, in a comparative perspective. Through a discussion of the applicability of the concept of party family to liberal parties, it gives a better picture of the development, challenges, and opportunities for liberal parties in Europe. The history of liberal parties in Europe is peculiar and the origins of the liberal family are not clearly defined. Liberal parties are still quite heterogeneous given the various meanings embraced in the idea of liberalism, including economic liberalism, cultural liberalism, progressivism, social-liberalism. Bringing together the best specialists engaged in the study of liberal parties, and with a two-levels perspective (comparative and case study), this book renews and expands our knowledge on the liberal party family in Europe. Four major themes are developed, linked to the four approaches of the concept of party family: electoral performances, participation to power, ideology and political program, and party organization. These themes are systematically developed in case studies, and in comparative chapters. Primarily aimed at scholars and students in comparative politics, this book should especially appeal to scholars in the fields of political parties and party systems, representation and elections, voting behavior, and public opinion. rticipation to power, ideology and political program, and party organization. These themes are systematically developed in case studies, and in comparative chapters. Primarily aimed at scholars and students in comparative politics, this book should especially appeal to scholars in the fields of political parties and party systems, representation and elections, voting behavior, and public opinion.
Anti-System Parties
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This book adopts an innovative conceptualization and analytical framework to the study of anti-system parties, and represents the first monograph ever published on the topic. It features empirical research using original data and combining large-N QCA analyses with a wide range of in-depth case studies from 18 Western European countries. The book adopts a party-centric approach to the study of anti-system formations by focusing on the major turning points faced by such actors after their initial success: long-term electoral sustainability, the different modalities of integration at the systemic level, and the electoral impact of transition to government. The author examines in particular the interplay between crucial elements of the internal supply-side of anti-system parties such as their organizational and ideological features, and the political opportunity structure. Anti-System Parties is a major contribution to the literature on populism, anti-establishment parties and comparative political parties. arative political parties.
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