Aufsatz(elektronisch)#1Oktober 1997
Political Parties and the Opportunity Costs of Patronage
In: Party politics: an international journal for the study of political parties and political organizations, Band 3, Heft 4, S. 533-548
ISSN: 1460-3683
Analyses of patronage and political parties often start from the assumption that patronage is a vote-winning and useful organizational strategy for a political party. This paper questions this assumption and suggests that, for the political party using it, patronage exacts a variety of costs. These undermine the party's existence as an organization with a collective purpose, and even its vote-winning capacities. Examples from a number of different countries and parties illustrate the argument.