International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the role of political parties in a democracy: how political parties fall short of their "ideal" functions when they adopt clientel-ist versus programmatic tactics to gain power; and uses data from International IDEA"s Research and Dialogue with Political Parties project to conduct an exploratory analysis of the conditions and processes within parties that may promote the adoption or support of progressive policies , in particular pro-poor, pro-women, and conflict-sensitive policies. The paper suggests four initial findings which provide an insight into some of the factors that correlate well with progressive policies. They present a complex relationship between internal party conditions and progressive policy positions. Unlike much of the literature that claims that gender quotas and democratic internal processes promote progressive policies, this preliminary analysis suggests there may be limits to these claims and that these measures are insufficient for promoting a progressive agenda.