Power and the (il)legitimacy of political parties

Abstract

This article presents an interpretation of the present malaise that afflicts the political party in established democracies. Today, parties are not only seen as inefficient or unscrupulous instruments, they are increasingly being labelled as illegitimate. The basic reason for this bad reputation lies in their detachment from society and their encroachment on the state. Parties tried to counteract the difficulties they faced in extracting resources from society (members, party identifiers, militants, money) by turning toward the state, which offered financial support, paid personnel, physical structures and patronage benefits. This shift reinvigorated the parties, which are now richer and more powerful, but it has further diminished citizens’ confidence in the parties themselves. In order to recover their dwindling legitimacy, parties have recently introduced changes, giving members more say in the decision-making process and in the selection of candidates and leaders. However, these innovations have not succeeded in revitalizing them, nor improved their image. Thus, parties continue to be unbalanced: powerful and yet distrusted. In this sense, they resemble a sort of mighty but unsteady Leviathan.