Searching for the Right Organisation: Ideology and Party Structure in East-Central Europe

This article examines four centre–right parties in East-Central Europe in order to assess the impact of ideology on party organization and revisit the thesis of organizational weakness in the region. The data collected indicate that, together with electoral success, inherited
resources and national context, ideology does indeed shape the style of organization. Centre–right parties, as opposed to leftist parties, tend to be less bureaucratized, have fewer staff members, a simpler structure, more individualized leadership and in public office tend to have a more elevated role. Parties that have more individualistic ideologies tend to have ‘lighter’ organization and weaker embeddedness, while parties subscribing to a more collectivist and corporatist type of conservatism have developed more complex party organization and rely more heavily on affiliate organizations. Analysis of temporal changes uncovers a degree of organizational vitality that is surprising given that the literature on both centre–right and on post-communist politics points towards organizational weakness.