Does Family Politicization Affect Party Membership Activity? A Study of Four Flemish Parties

Abstract

Abstract

Family politicization has been found to affect the recruitment process of election candidates and political officeholders. This phenomenon can be explained by both supply-side factors (i.e. higher levels of political socialization and motivation) and demand-side factors (i.e. name recognition). In the present study, we investigated whether family politicization also affects party membership activity, which is situated lower on the participation ladder and does not require election, thus rendering demand-side factors less relevant. Our results demonstrate that family politicization plays a role in campaign activities (e.g. distributing leaflets) and legitimization activities (e.g. electing the party leader). However, for more timeconsuming activities such as policy-oriented matters, supply-side factors alone do not give party members from a politicized family an advantage compared to other party members.

Keywords: parties, party members, socialization, participation, family politicization, Belgium

-----

Bibliography: Wauters, Bram/Van Liefferinge, Hilde: Does Family Politicization Affect Party Membership Activity? A Study of Four Flemish Parties, PCS, 1-2-2015, pp. 127-147. https://doi.org/10.3224/pcs.v6i1-2.09