Leadership Elections

Abstract

In recent decades many European political parties have broadened the selectorate for the party leadership, often clashing in so doing with their own tradition of decision-making. The article argues that in order to understand what is at stake in the staging of these contests we need to go beyond the classic literature on party change and party organisation and recast such reform through an anthropological lens. We can then explore how rules, practices and narratives constrain internal competition whilst retaining a focus on their strategic use by actors. Rather than see such reform as inspired by a search for organisational efficacy, this approach suggests that we consider leadership selection as a ritual. The conjecture is explored further and developed by comparing the 2010 Labour leadership election and the 2011 Socialist presidential primary. Show more