Not for Fame or Fortune

Abstract

Although the party systems of contemporary mature democracies are very resilient, the failure of new parties to become major actors on the political stage is not preordained. Founded only a decade ago, the Reform Party has played a significant role in reshaping Canada's national party system. Using data from a large representative national survey, this paper investigates the beliefs, attitudes and behavior of members of Reform. Most Reformers joined their new party in response to purposive incentives, multivariate analyses indicating that such incentives are significant elements in a larger set of factors encouraging members to work actively for their new party. The ability of purposive incentives, rather than the lures of `fame and fortune', to attract members and stimulate them to work on the party's behalf gives Reform important organizational advantages in its efforts to solidify and expand its position in the national party system.