The Challenges of Intra-Party Democracy

Abstract This chapter deconstructs both the idea and practice of intra-party democracy. While IPD is often viewed as an inherently positive concept, we suggest that there are many forms of IPD with each resulting in different organizational structures and power sharing arrangements within parties. We introduce some of the key questions parties face when operationalizing IPD and what the implications of these decisions are. Consideration is given to whether IPD is primarily concerned with democratic outcomes or with participatory and inclusive decision making processes. The relationship between IPD and state-wide democracy is also pursued. These themes are then taken-up and developed further in subsequent chapters.