Panel Chair: Astrid Barrio, University of Valencia, astrid.barrio@uv.es

Co-Chair: Montserrat Baras, Autonomous University of Barcelona

Discussant: Oscar Barberà, University of Valencia, o.barbera@uv.es

Atrend toward the use of direct democracy procedures has been pointed out in many western political parties (Scarrow 1999, Scarrow et al 2000, Scarrow & Kittilson 2006, Hazan & Rahat 2010). In some parties direct democracy is now used in a wide range of intra-party procedures like candidate selection, leadership selection, policy elaboration, etc. However, in other parties the use of direct democratic procedures is quite limited and controversial. The aim of the session is, first of all, to examine and explain the attitudes and perceptions of party members and activists toward these procedures: Do they think direct democracy is empowering one party stratum against another one? Do they perceive direct democracy as a threat or as a tool? Why some party activists are more reluctant than others toward democratization? On the other hand, the panel will try to analyze the behavior of party members and activists in these processes: Do direct democracy increase or decrease the intra-party activity level? Empirical and comparative papers are encouraged, but theoretical and qualitative papers are also welcome.

This panel is organized by the ‘Members and Activists of Political Parties’ (MAPP) working group of the Committee on Political Sociology (CP

Deadline for Abstracts/paper proposals: October 17, 2011.

http://www.ipsa.org/events/congress/madrid2012/submit-abstractpaper-proposal

Further details: Dr. Astrid Barrio (Universitat de Valencia) astrid.barrio@uv.es