Webb, Paul, Bale, Tim and Poletti, Monica (2018) Social networkers and careerists: explaining high-intensity activism among British party members. International Political Science Review. ISSN 0192-5121 (Accepted)

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Abstract

Drawing on survey data on the members of six British parties gathered in the immediate aftermath of the general election of 2015, this paper asks what motivates members to engage in high-intensity election campaign activism? It argues that two factors are especially prominent: the aspiration to pursue a career in politics (which only accounts for a small minority of these activists) and becoming integrated into a local social network (which accounts for a much larger proportion). By contrast, members who lack either of these characteristics, but are mainly motivated to join by ideological impulses, largely restrict themselves to low-intensity activity. These findings are likely to be especially pertinent to countries with single-member district electoral systems.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Political party members, Election campaigns, Political Activism, Political participation, Incentives theory
Schools and Departments:	School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Politics
Research Centres and Groups:	Sussex European Institute
Depositing User:	Paul Webb
Date Deposited:	15 Nov 2018 10:57
Last Modified:	15 Nov 2018 10:57
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/80184

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