ABSTRACT
Relations between a party’s incumbent leaders, its active members and its electorate are characteristically marked by dissent and conflict. Publicised clashes between parliamentarians and party members coincide with, and sometimes conceal, a wider divergence of views between members and electors. Indeed, it has long been recognised that party cleavage lines, old or new, may be imperfect guides to a society’s real political divisions. In the case of West European parties, the great variability over time of intraorganisational relations and dynamic change in party strategy make it all the more necessary to understand sub-party levels of policy aggregation and political organisation. The attitudes and behaviour of intra-party actors conceal an ever-wider range of influences, and this chapter is, in a sense, a plea for greater attention in the literature to the inner workings of political parties.
