Affiliations: [a] Department of Political Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA | [b] Centre for Media and Journalism Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands | [c] Marketing Analyst, Seattle, WA, USA
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Alberto Lioy, Department of Political Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA. E-mail: alioy@uoregon.edu.
Abstract: This article examines the interaction of organisational and technological changes adopted by parties to respond to members’ demands for more participation. We develop a term, platform politics, and create a framework for identifying how parties use platforms to open or close intra-party decision-making. The framework is then applied to two institutionalised parties (PSOE and PD) and to two movement-based parties (Podemos and M5S) of the changing party systems of Spain and Italy. We conclude that the tensions between existing organisational structures and the use of internet-based platforms create a series of unintended consequences for parties, which result in potentially disruptive outcomes.
Keywords: Party organization, party politics, online platforms, platform politics, representation, movement-based parties
