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Why do only some people who support parties actually join them? Evidence from Britain

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Version 2 2023-06-12, 07:23
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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 07:23 authored by Monica Poletti, Paul WebbPaul Webb, Tim Bale
What makes people join a political party is one of the most commonly studied questions in research on party members. Nearly all this research, however, is based on talking to people who have actually joined parties. This article simultaneously analyses surveys of members of political parties in Britain and surveys of non-member supporters of those same parties. This uniquely enables us to model the decision to join parties. The results suggest that most of the elements that constitute the influential ‘General Incentives Model’ are significant. But it also reveals that, while party supporters imagine that selective benefits, social norms and opposing rival parties’ policies are key factors in members’ decisions to join a party, those who actually do so are more likely to say they are motivated by attachments to their party’s values, policies and leaders, as well as by an altruistic desire to support democracy more generally.

Funding

Party Members in the United Kingdom; G1772; ESRC-ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL; POLD1A6S - ES/M007537/1

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

West European Politics

ISSN

0140-2382

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Issue

1

Volume

42

Page range

156-172

Department affiliated with

  • Politics Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Sussex European Institute Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-07-27

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-12-06

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-07-26

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