Parteienstaat - Parteiendemokratie

Political parties are one of the main players in today’s democracies, a feature which has received mixed appreciation ranging from praise to strong criticism. Their predominant position in the political system and public funding of political parties especially have received close academic scrutiny. Employing both a legal and a political science perspective, contributors from different fields of study examine party legitimacy and how to distinguish between parties and parliamentary groups better. Questions of party finance and the political independence enjoyed by MPs offer room for discussion, and using empirical data, the contributors analyse the representativeness of political parties. Another important aspect is the constitutionally guaranteed need for intra-party democracy. Continuing the interdisciplinary approach, the authors also take old and new forms of political participation into account.

With contributions by
Hans Herbert von Arnim, Werner J. Patzelt, Sophie Schönberger, Hans Hugo Klein, Julian Krüper, Sebastian Roßner, Klaus Detterbeck, Oskar Niedermayer, Norbert Lammert.