Parties and Democracy

Abstract

Abstract These concluding thoughts highlight the considerable variability of the challenges to parties and democracy around the globe. While generalizations are difficult given the very different developmental trajectories of political parties in different parts of the world, we find that the capacity of political parties to provide stable linkage is either eroding or has been relatively weak all along. At the same time, political parties are largely dependent on state subsidies almost everywhere, while party members tend to contribute relatively little. To a degree, they have become a service provided by the state to citizens, with frequently fairly weak anchorage in society. However, they are still the central gatekeepers for political office.