Urwahlen auf Landesebene

To uncover the complex causal mechanisms that lead to the occasional democratisation of decision-making processes by party branches at the regional level, this study pursues a novel approach. It applies process-tracing and uses both data from interviews as well as party and newspaper documents. The author shows that, usually, a combination of an electoral shock, the desire for a peaceful solution to an internal conflict and tactical motives can explain a party’s decision to give its rank-and-file a say. With regard to the consequences of this novel selection method, she uses statistical methods to show that the most experienced candidate is disadvantaged in primaries, whereas women are not.