The greatest number of party members? Membership structures in Icelandic political parties
Political parties in Iceland are distinguished by higher membership density than exists in other democratic states. This raises questions concerning the nature and role of party membership and calls for an explanation of this distinguishing feature of Icelandic party politics. In addition, the numbe...
Published in: | Icelandic Review of Politics & Administration |
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University of Iceland
2010
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:aa7ab08b08544650af2957c6f9b91626 2023-05-15T16:46:32+02:00 The greatest number of party members? Membership structures in Icelandic political parties Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson 2010-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2010.6.2.1 https://doaj.org/article/aa7ab08b08544650af2957c6f9b91626 EN IS eng ice University of Iceland http://www.irpa.is/article/view/1066 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-6803 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-679X 1670-6803 1670-679X doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2010.6.2.1 https://doaj.org/article/aa7ab08b08544650af2957c6f9b91626 Stjórnmál og Stjórnsýsla, Vol 6, Iss 2, Pp 123-150 (2010) Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2010.6.2.1 2022-12-31T00:12:47Z Political parties in Iceland are distinguished by higher membership density than exists in other democratic states. This raises questions concerning the nature and role of party membership and calls for an explanation of this distinguishing feature of Icelandic party politics. In addition, the number of party members has been increasing, contrary to experience from other states. In many countries the declining number of party members has given cause for alarm, but in Iceland the question may well be asked if the large number of party members is a sign of good health for the party system. In this article we seek to map and explain the development of membership of the Icelandic parties in light of theories of party organization. Membership being in effect a free good in Iceland is a precondition for the great number of members which prevails while the development of party primaries has played the main role in actualizing the membership potential provided by the nature of party membership. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Icelandic Review of Politics & Administration 6 2 123 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English Icelandic |
topic |
Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 |
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Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson The greatest number of party members? Membership structures in Icelandic political parties |
topic_facet |
Political institutions and public administration (General) JF20-2112 Political science (General) JA1-92 |
description |
Political parties in Iceland are distinguished by higher membership density than exists in other democratic states. This raises questions concerning the nature and role of party membership and calls for an explanation of this distinguishing feature of Icelandic party politics. In addition, the number of party members has been increasing, contrary to experience from other states. In many countries the declining number of party members has given cause for alarm, but in Iceland the question may well be asked if the large number of party members is a sign of good health for the party system. In this article we seek to map and explain the development of membership of the Icelandic parties in light of theories of party organization. Membership being in effect a free good in Iceland is a precondition for the great number of members which prevails while the development of party primaries has played the main role in actualizing the membership potential provided by the nature of party membership. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson |
author_facet |
Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson |
author_sort |
Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson |
title |
The greatest number of party members? Membership structures in Icelandic political parties |
title_short |
The greatest number of party members? Membership structures in Icelandic political parties |
title_full |
The greatest number of party members? Membership structures in Icelandic political parties |
title_fullStr |
The greatest number of party members? Membership structures in Icelandic political parties |
title_full_unstemmed |
The greatest number of party members? Membership structures in Icelandic political parties |
title_sort |
greatest number of party members? membership structures in icelandic political parties |
publisher |
University of Iceland |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2010.6.2.1 https://doaj.org/article/aa7ab08b08544650af2957c6f9b91626 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Stjórnmál og Stjórnsýsla, Vol 6, Iss 2, Pp 123-150 (2010) |
op_relation |
http://www.irpa.is/article/view/1066 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-6803 https://doaj.org/toc/1670-679X 1670-6803 1670-679X doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2010.6.2.1 https://doaj.org/article/aa7ab08b08544650af2957c6f9b91626 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2010.6.2.1 |
container_title |
Icelandic Review of Politics & Administration |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
123 |
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1766036638902779904 |