Converging or diverging? Intra-party change in the Italian parties (2012–2024)

Since the early 1990s, the Italian political system has undergone profound transformations in the structure and identity of its poli￾tical parties. Frequent changes in party names, labels, and organiza￾tional forms make the Italian party system a particularly instructive case for examining both convergence and divergence in party development. This article analyses patterns of organizational change in five Italian parties over the past decade. Drawing on data from the Political Party Database Project, and building on its conceptual framework and methodology, we assess whether the patterns of party change proposed by Katz and Mair in their cartel party thesis and ‘three faces’ model are borne out empirically. Our findings indicate that, although most Italian parties display similar trends along certain dimensions – such as declining membership, reduced resources for the party in central office, and the consolida￾tion of the party in public office – they diverge along others. These results call into question theories of party change that assume organizational convergence as an inherent or inevitable outcome.