The decline of class identification due to the modernization of society has

created a social structural dealignment in voters. Indeed, a lot of parties

were class-voting ones, this is especially the case in the UK. By losing this
class identification, they lost an important number of members. Declining
membership is not only due to social consequences, but also to a lack of
trust in the public in general. A political party is a mean by which people
can agree to behave completely over the long time so as to secure
benefits that they would not have been able to gain as individuals
(Hershey, 2006, p76). Political Parties are essential to democracy, as no
other association could fulfil the role they play. They perform several
fundamental functions such as: representing citizens, recruiting future
leaders, organizing the government and its policies, mobilizing electors
and aggregating the interest of the society. They are a link between the
society and the government, but if this link is damaged, some of those
functions can be performed differently. This essay will show to what extent
declining membership changes the role political parties play in democracy.
First of all, it has an effect on the recruitment and selection of future
leaders. Second of all, declining membership has an impact on political
competition. Thirdly, it incentives parties to accentuate the mobilization of
citizens. Fourthly, it transforms the policy style of the government. Last
but not least, it changes the way members of parties are representative of
the society.

First of all, one of the main function of a political party, is to recruit and
select candidates that might become future leaders. It is a channel for
citizens to control the government (Strom and Svsand, 1997). But the
increase of political volatility challenges a traditional selection process.
Indeed, historically, selecting potential leaders was an elite process. To get
over the crisis of membership, parties have established a process of intrademocracy. Members can select their own candidates through the process
of direct primaries. It gives them a new power which incentives them to

get involved in the party they are members of (Scarrow and Gezgor,
2010). Moreover, in Washington State and California, a proposition of
introducing non-partisan primaries was introduced at the end of the 20th
century. Parties in those States would opened primaries not solely to
members but to any electors, regardless of the party they belong to
(Gerber and Morton, 1998). Members of parties and citizens, do not feel
left out from the selecting process anymore, they gain from it a legitimacy
due to their involvement. The selection of candidates is part of a broader
function which is as well challenged by a membership crisis: political
competition.

Another fundamental function of parties for the well-being of democracy is

political competition. It reflects a political pluralism, which gives to voters
a choice in candidates (Katz, 2014). However, the decline in membership
transformed the traditional competition when it comes to electoral
campaign. As the majority of voters do not identify to a party anymore,
electoral campaigns become candidate-centred and not party-centred like
it used to be. This is also a consequence of direct primaries. Candidates
prepare their campaign individually for primaries, and then continue
throughout elections. Parties need a leader with charisma, as he will
represent them. It is important that the majority of people can relate and
identify themselves to this candidate. Therefore there is a change in party
organization, as leaders are more autonomous. They have a wider
flexibility in the way they decide to campaign (Mair et al., 2004).
Candidate-centred campaigns are the most common in the United States.
Moreover, parties are constantly developing new campaign strategies
using technological tools. Indeed, internet creates a participatory link
between citizens and parties, which enhances the role that the latter plays
in mobilizing citizens (Gibson et al. , 2003).

Citizens mobilization is essential to democracy, how can a government

have legitimacy if less than half of the electorate voted? Therefore it is

fundamental for political parties to promote mobilization, ensuring a

maximum turnout at elections. Moreover, parties have a function of
governing, so it is important for them to get elected. This can only be done
by promoting themselves by reaching out to citizens. Broadcast channels
and newspaper are the main sources of political information for citizens
(Webb et al. , 2002). Parties are now using those channels to enhance
electors to go to the poll. Through media, parties can build themselves a
brand. The public image reflected by parties can appeal potential
supporters, maybe not to join the party, but at least to vote for it (Scarrow
and Gezgor, 2010). Furthermore, it can be used as a shortcut for voters in
the gathering information process, by stereotyping parties (Katz and
Crotty, 2006). Indeed, voters will be influenced by this image to develop
an opinion of candidates and policies of parties. Parties have to mobilize
citizens to get elected, but they also have to develop policies that will
catch median voters.

Declining membership has arisen a new model of party to overcome

electoral volatility. In order to get elected, parties are converging into
catch-all parties. This is done so, by adopting policies that accepted by a
wider electorate. Therefore, it can be said that the aggregation of interests
in transformed. Nowadays, parties adopts policies that might not reflect
their ideologies, but the interest of voters that are not part of their
membership. The reason for this is to attract a broader electorate. Indeed,
parties might not have find a solution to overcome declining membership,
but they can change their policies. This is particularly true for parties in
government, as they want to get re-elected again. Sometimes the political
agenda forces parties to adopt policies that do not correspond to their
ideology. In 2013, the Partis Socialiste (French socialist party) was widely
criticized towards the implementation of immigration policies that were
too conservative for the ideology of the party. The PS adopted this position
in order to guarantee itself a part of the conservative electorate for the
next elections.

Last but not least, political parties have a function of representing citizens.
But declining membership challenges this. As it is less common to become
a member of a party, it necessitates more motivation to join one. Members
nowadays are more educated and have a better social situation than the
average citizens (Van Biezen et al. , 2012). Number of scholars argue
about a qualitative shift in membership. Citizens getting involved have a
better political culture and are more informed about the challenges that
parties have to overcome. A qualitative shift has a positive impact on
parties, as more informed people are shaping the political arena (Scarrow
and Gezgor, 2010). But are they representative of the society we live in?
The average age of party members is constantly increasing and they also
benefit from a better financial situation. Therefore it makes them less
representative than the average citizen. Moreover, it becomes harder for
parties to recruit young people, which enhances the existing gap between
the new generation and politicians. Declining membership creates a
vicious circle. Indeed it requires more competence to join a party, but it
keeps away citizens that might want to get involved, which again does not
help to overcome the crisis of membership.