Does Party Finance Regulation Create a Level Playing Field?
Abstract
The major objective of party finance laws is to create equitable, free, and fair party competition in which the true popularity of policy proposals matter most for electoral outcomes. But to what extent have party finance laws encouraged homogenous financial conditions for fair party competition? This article draws on the level playing field conception prominent in theories of egalitarianism and tests the assumption that party finance regulation eliminates or reduces inequalities arising from unequal starting points. It analyzes data on the party finances of 47 parties in six European countries between 1960 and 2010. The findings indicate that party finance law has been effective in some countries. Specifically, despite significant legislative differences, the introduction of party finance law in Denmark and the Netherlands was most effective in encouraging financial convergence amongst parties and thus more similar financial conditions. The findings suggest that party finance regulation has not always accomplished creating a level playing field; wherever it did, quite different structures achieved similar outcomes. When it comes to party finance regulation there appears to be no one-size-fits-all policy to create equal opportunities between parties.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Aarts K. and Thomassen J. (2008). “Satisfaction With Democracy: Do Institutions Matter?” Electoral Studies 27(1): 5–18.
Arneson R. (2008). “Equality of Opportunity.” In Zalda E. N. (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008). Retrieved from <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/equal-opportunity/>.
Avnon D. (1995). “Parties Laws in Democratic Systems of Government.” Journal of Legislative Studies 1(2): 283–300.
Bille L. (1994). “Denmark: The Decline of the Membership Party.” In Katz R. S. and Mair P. (Eds.), How Parties Organize: Change and Adaptation in Party Organizations in Western Europe (134–157). London: SAGE.
Casas-Zamora K. (2005). Paying for Democracy: Political Finance and State Funding for Parties. Colchester: ECPR Press.
Dalton R. J. and Weldon S. A. (2005). “Public Images of Political Parties: A Necessary Evil?” West European Politics 28(5): 931–951.
Denmark's Ministry of Economics and the Interior (1999). Lov om økonomisk støtte til politiske partier m.v. LOV nr 940 af 23/12/1986 Historisk. Available at <https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=52842> (accessed on May 17, 2015).
Denmark's Ministry of the Interior and Health (2006). Lov om økonomisk støtte til politiske partier m.v. LBK nr 1291 af 08/12/2006 Gælende. Available at <https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/r0710.aspx?id=10812&exp=1> (accessed on May 17, 2015).
Ewing K. (2011). “Political Party Finance: Themes in International Context.” In Tham J.-C., Costar B. J., and Orr G. (Eds.), Electoral Democracy: Australian Prospects. Carlton: Melbourne University Publishing.
Farrell D. M. and Webb P. (2000). “Political Parties as Campaign Organizations.” In Dalton R. J. and Wattenberg M. P. (Eds.), Parties without Partisans: Political Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies (102–128). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fisher J. (2002). “Next Step: State Funding for the Parties?” Political Quarterly 73(4): 392–399.
Holtug N. (1998). “Egalitarianism and the Levelling Down Objection.” Analysis 58(2): 166–174.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. (2012). Political Finance Database. Available at <http://www.idea.int/political-finance/> (accessed on July 18, 2014).
Karvonen L. (2007). “Legislation On Political Parties: A Global Comparison.” Party Politics 13(4): 437–455.
Katz R. S. (2002). “The Internal Life of Parties.” In Luther K. R. and Müller-Rommel F. (Eds.), Political Parties in the New Europe (87–118). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Katz R. S. and Mair P. (1992). “Introduction: The Cross-National Study of Party Organizations.” In Katz R. S. and Mair P. (Eds.), Party Organizations: A Data Handbook on Party Organizations in Western Democracies, 1960–90 (1–15). London: SAGE.
Katz R. S. and Mair P. (1994). How Parties Organize: Change and Adaptation in Party Organizations in Western Europe. London: SAGE.
Katz R. S. and Mair P. (1995). “Changing Models of Party Organization and Party Democracy. The Emergence of the Cartel Party.” Party Politics 1(1): 5–28.
Katz R. S. and Mair P. (2009). “The Cartel Party Thesis: A Restatement.” Perspectives on Politics 7(4): 753–766.
Kitschelt H. (2000). “Citizens, Politicians, and Party Cartellization: Political Representation and State Failure in Post-industrial Democracies.” European Journal of Political Research 37(2): 149–179.
Kölln A. (2014). Party Decline and Response: The Effects of Membership Decline on Party Organisations in Western Europe, 1960–2010. University of Twente: Enschede.
Kölln A. (2015). “The Value of Political Parties to Representative Democracy.” European Political Science Review 7(4): 593–613.
Kölln A. (forthcoming). “The Effects of Membership Decline on Party Organisations in Europe.” European Journal of Political Research online first.
Koole R. A. (1994). “The Vulnerability of the Modern Cadre Party in the Netherlands.” In Katz R. S. and Mair P. (Eds.), How Parties Organize: Change and Adaptation in Party Organizations in Western Europe (278–303). London: SAGE.
Koß M. (2011). The Politics of Party Funding: State Funding to Political Parties and Party Competition in Western Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Luther K. R. and Müller-Rommel F. (2002). “Political Parties in a Changing Europe.” In Luther K. R. and Müller-Rommel F. (Eds.), Political Parties in the New Europe: Political and Analytical Challenges. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mair P. (2008). “The Challenge to Party Government.” West European Politics 31(1): 211–234.
Müller W. C. and Sieberer U. (2006). “Party Law.” In Katz R. S. and Crotty W. (Eds.), Handbook of Party Politics (435–445). London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Nassmacher K.-H. (2003). “Introduction: Political Parties, Funding and Democracy.” In Austin R. and Tjernström M. (Eds.), Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns. Stockholm: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
Nassmacher K.-H. (2004). “Ist unsere Demokratie zu teuer?” Einblicke 39(Frühjahr): 22–25.
Norris P. (2004). Building Political Parties: Reforming Legal Regulations and Internal Rules. Stockholm.
Norris P. (2013). “The New Research Agenda Studying Electoral Integrity.” Electoral Studies 32(4): 563–575.
Piccio D. R. (2014). “Northern, Western and Southern Europe.” In International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (Ed.), Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns. Stockholm.
Pierre J., Svåsand L., and Widfeldt A. (2000). “State Subsidies to Political Parties: Confronting Rhetoric with Reality.” West European Politics 23(3): 1–24.
Pinto-Duschinsky M. (2002). “Financing Politics: A Global View.” Journal of Democracy 13(4): 69–86.
Primo D. M. and Milyo J. (2006). “Campaign Finance Laws and Political Efficacy: Evidence from the States.” Election Law Journal 5(1): 23–39.
Scarrow S. E. (2004). “Explaining Political Finance Reforms: Competition and Context.” Party Politics 10(6): 653–675.
Scarrow S. E. (2006). “Party Subsidies and the Freezing of Party Competition: Do Cartel Mechanisms Work?” West European Politics 29(4): 619–639.
The Netherlands' Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (1999). “Wet subsidiëring politieke partijen.” Staatsblad 1999, 257. Available at <https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/stb-1999-257.html> (accessed on May 17, 2015).
The Netherlands' Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (2013). “Wet financiering politieke partijen.” Staatsblad 2013, 93. Available at <https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/stb-2013-93.html> (accessed on May 17, 2015).
Tribunal Constitucional de España (1978). Constitution of December 27, 1978. Available at <http://www.tribunalconstitucional.es/en/constitucion/Pages/ConstitucionIngles.aspx> (accessed on October 2, 2015).
Van Biezen I. (2008). “State Intervention in Party Politics: The Public Funding and Regulation of Political Parties.” European Review 16(3): 337–353.
Van Biezen I. (2012). “Constitutionalizing Party Democracy: The Constitutive Codification of Political Parties in Post-war Europe.” British Journal of Political Science 42(01): 187–212.
Van Biezen I. (2013). Party Law in Modern Europe. <http://www.partylaw.leidenuniv.nl/> (accessed on May 17, 2015).
Van Biezen I. and Borz G. (2012). “Models of Party Democracy: Patterns of Party Regulation in Post-war European Constitutions.” European Political Science Review 4(03): 327–359.
Van Biezen I. and Rashkova E. R. (2014). “Deterring New Party Entry? The Impact of State Regulation on the Permeability of Party Systems.” Party Politics 20(6): 890–903.
Whiteley P. (2014). “Does Regulation Make Political Parties More Popular? A Multi-level Analysis of Party Support in Europe.” International Political Science Review 35(3): 376–399.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Election Law Journal
Volume 15 • Issue Number 1 • March 2016
Pages: 71 - 82
Copyright
Copyright 2016, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
History
Published online: 4 March 2016
Published in print: March 2016
Published ahead of print: 28 October 2015
Topics
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Export Citation
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citations of this publication.
View Options
Get Access
Access content
To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access.⚠ Society Access
If you are a member of a society that has access to this content please log in via your society website and then return to this publication.