4 - Origins and Reproduction of the Mass-Organic Structure

Summary

This chapter uses process tracing to argue that organizations that grant voice and veto power to activists in the decision-making process avoid oligarchization of the party. The FA presents an opportunity to analyze how party organization per se affects the performance of political parties. The FA is a successful case of party building and reproduction that sheds light on the role organizational structure plays in reproducing activists. The process tracing systematically describes and explains the formation and reproduction of the party. It shows how the party´s first steps as a political organization established a reproduction mechanism with a lock-in effect that explains the persistence of the party’s activism.