Ageing well? The organisational premises of the cartel party thirty years later

The cartel party thesis represents one of the most accomplished theoretical efforts in party studies. Differently from previous works in the field, the cartel party thesis is less deterministic in its basic assumptions, admitting that the process of party organisational change is more open-ended, both within and across party systems. Thirty years after its formulation, we want to ascertain if and to what extent its assumptions withstand the test of time. Focusing on 73 parties in 11 Western European countries, from the 1970s to the 2010s, the article addresses five key points: party organisational convergence towards the cartel party model; the shift of intra-party power in favour of the party in public office; the relevance of party regulation on party change; the effect of more parties entering government; the impact of contextual factors on party change. Findings show a blurred picture: some assumptions are supported by the empirical analysis, while others appear less consistent.