Giulia Sandri | Université Catholique de Lille (original) (raw)

Books by Giulia Sandri

Handbook of Political Party Funding, 2018

The chapter outlines the cost and funding possibilities for party primaries. It especially focuse... more The chapter outlines the cost and funding possibilities for party primaries. It especially focuses on how states might facilitate or hinder the use of party primary elections through either direct or indirect funding regulations. The chapter first outlines the different costs of primaries and how they can vary depending on the type of contest and the manner of its organization. The second part of the chapter outlines the regulatory environment and its consequences for intra-party democracy for the cases of Italy, the US, the UK and Germany. It shows that finance regulations are at the heart of determining if primaries are used or not and whether or not they positively affect intra-party democracy. The chapter demonstrates how the funding of primaries can have an impact on intra-party power distribution as it determines who has control over finance.

Party Primaries in Comparative Perspective gives a much-needed conceptualization to this topic, describing the function and nature of primary elections and providing a comparative analytical framework to the impact of primaries on the internal and external functioning of political parties. Elaborating on the analytical tools developed to study the US experience this framework engages with primary elections in Europe and Asia offering a theoretical, comparative and empirical account of the emergence of party primaries and an invaluable guide to internal electoral processes and their impact.Contents: Introduction: primary elections across the world, Giulia Sandri and Antonella Seddone; Leadership selection versus candidate selection: similarities and differences, Ofer Kenig, Gideon Rahat and Reuven Y. Hazan; The American experience of primary elections in comparative perspective, Alan Ware; Democratising party leadership selection in Spain and Portugal, Oscar Barberà, Marco Lisi and Juan Rodríguez-Teruel; Democratising party leadership selection in Belgium and Israel, Bram Wauters, Gideon Rahat and Ofer Kenig; Democratising party leadership selection in Japan and Taiwan, Yohei Narita, Ryo Nakai and Keiichi Kubo; Democratising candidate selection in Italy and France, Marino De Luca and Fulvio Venturino; Democratising candidate selection in Romania and Slovakia, Sergiu Gherghina and Peter Spáč; Democratising candidate selection in Iceland, Indridi H. Indriðason and Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson; Conclusion, Giulia Sandri, Antonella Seddone and Fulvio Venturino; Bibliography; Index.

Primary elections for choosing party leaders and candidates are now becoming commonplace in Europ... more Primary elections for choosing party leaders and candidates are now becoming commonplace in Europe, Asia and America but questions as to how much they hinder a party’s organizational strength and cohesion or affect electoral performance have largely been ignored outside of the USA.
Party Primaries in Comparative Perspective gives a much-needed conceptualization to this topic describing the function and nature of primary elections and providing a comparative analytical framework to the impact of primaries on the internal and external functioning of political parties. Elaborating on the analytical tools developed to study the US experience this framework engages with primary elections in Europe and Asia offering a theoretical, comparative and empirical account of the emergence of party primaries and an invaluable guide to internal electoral processes and their impact.

Papers by Giulia Sandri

Sono molti i partiti europei che fanno ricorso alle elezioni primarie per selezionare i propri le... more Sono molti i partiti europei che fanno ricorso alle elezioni primarie per selezionare i propri leaders o candidati. In Italia, è stato certamente il Partito Democratico ad aver legato in maniera indissolubile il proprio nome a queste particolari procedure inclusive. Al di là della funzione di selezione, queste elezioni hanno avuto un impatto rilevante sull’immagine esterna del partito e sul suo assetto organizzativo. Infatti, accanto alle retoriche che rimandano a un’idea di inclusività e trasparenza, le primarie incidono in maniera rilevante sul ruolo degli iscritti all’interno di organizzazioni sempre più aperte e inclusive, che riconoscono poteri e diritti a soggetti esterni al partito a prescindere dal loro effettivo impegno militante. Diventa pertanto importante comprendere quale sia il giudizio che i militanti hanno delle primarie nel tentativo di chiarire se il ricorso ad elezioni primarie possa aver indebolito il loro legame con il partito o se invece possa aver rafforzato il loro ruolo. Questo paper intende approfondire proprio questo tema considerando le opinioni degli iscritti PD. Ricorrendo a dati C&LS relativi a una survey CAWI condotta fra gli iscritti del Partito Democratico all’indomani delle elezioni politiche 2013 verranno analizzati i giudizi e le opinioni dei militanti rispetto a queste particolari (s)elezioni.

13ème Congrès de l’Association française de science politique (AFSP) 22-24 juin 2015

Le degré d’inclusivité des modes de sélection des candidats aux élections (présidentielles, local... more Le degré d’inclusivité des modes de sélection des candidats aux élections (présidentielles, locales, législatives) et des modes de désignation du leader du parti est en train d’augmenter non seulement aux Etats-Unis, mais aussi dans plusieurs pays Européens. Les adhérents, les militants et parfois les électeurs ou les sympathisants sont aujourd’hui intégrés dans ces procédures de sélection et ont la possibilité, sinon de décider, du moins d’influencer la procédure en faisant entendre leur voix (Treille et Faucher-King, 2003 ; Cross et Katz, 2013). Dans le cas des primaires dites ouvertes, tant les adhérents que les sympathisants sont intégrés au processus de sélection, sans que l'adhésion partisane soit un prérequis. Certains auteurs soulignent que, dans les partis qui ont adopté ces procédures très inclusives de désignation des leaders et des candidats, ces changements organisationnels semblent affecter les structures partisanes en réduisant les marges pour différencier clairement entre le rôle et le profil des adhérents et ceux des sympathisants (Katz, 2001 ; Bolleyer, 2009).
Notre papier se propose donc de se pencher de façon tant empirique que théorique sur cette question et d’explorer en particulier les profils, attitudes et motivations des deux groupes de participants aux primaires ouvertes, les adhérents et les votants/sympathisants. Cette réflexion nous amène aux questionnements suivants: qui sont les participants aux primaires? Est-ce que la sociologie électorale des votants diffère de celle des adhérents de partis ? De plus, la littérature américaine a montré l’existence d’un lien entre le caractère inclusif des procédures de sélection des candidats et le positionnement idéologique des votants (Norrander, 1989 ; Kaufmann et al., 2005). Les votants aux primaires semblent être idéologiquement plus polarisés que l’électorat général mais moins que les adhérents de parti.
Toutefois, la nature de cette relation est plutôt controversée. D’ailleurs, les différences entre adhérents et votants/sympathisants seront explorées non seulement en termes de profil sociodémographique et politique, mais aussi en termes de comportement et de motivations de vote. Afin d’explorer empiriquement ces questionnements et les hypothèses formulées par la littérature américaine nous nous focalisons sur un cas d’étude spécifique, c’est-à-dire les partis de gauche en Italie et le Parti Démocrate plus spécifiquement. Ce parti a utilisé des primaires ouvertes pour désigner son leader et sélectionner les candidats aux élections depuis sa fondation en 2007. Nous développerons nos analyses à partir d’une base de données empirique originale élaborée sur base de données d’enquête ‘sortie des urnes’ lors des élections primaires de 2012 pour désigner le candidat premier ministre de la coalition de centre-gauche guidée par le PD et lors des élections primaires de 2013 pour sélectionner le leader du PD.

2013 APSA ANNUAL MEETING, Aug 29, 2013

Handbook of Political Party Funding, 2018

13ème Congrès de l’Association française de science politique (AFSP) 22-24 juin 2015

2013 APSA ANNUAL MEETING, Aug 29, 2013

In their book Challenges to Consensual Politics: Democracy, Identity, and Populist Protest in the... more In their book Challenges to Consensual Politics: Democracy, Identity, and Populist Protest in the Alpine Region, Daniele Caramani and Yves Mény argue that the Alpine region displays a political culture characterized, among other things, by marked conservatism, nativism and Euroscepticism. Such transnational political culture manifests itself throughout the Alpine arch by the presence of successful ethno-regionalist, right-wing populist and Eurosceptic parties. In the same book, however, Michael Keating proposes a more nuanced thesis. While the above-mentioned characteristics are, indeed, predominant in the Germanic-speaking area of the Alps (with some spill-over effects in the Italian-speaking area), the French-speaking area boasts a more progressive political culture. The paper aims to explore this alternative thesis by analysing the ideological identities of two ethno-regionalist parties operating in the Francophone Alpine area—the Union Valdôtaine in Italy and the Ligue Savoisienne in France. The analysis substantiates Caramani and Meny's thesis, revealing how most ideological aspects present in other Alpine areas, such as localism, traditionalist conservatism, work ethics and reluctance to share wealth with others, are very strong in Savoy and Aosta valley too. However, the lack or weakness of crucial populist radical-right ideological elements, such as open xenophobia, racism and Euroscepticism, appears to support Keating's alternative thesis.

Mind the Gap. Political Participation and Representation in Belgium, 2017

van Haute Emilie, Pilet Jean-Benoit, Sandri Giulia, « Still religious parties in Belgium? The decline of the denominational cleavage in the Belgian consociational democracy”, in Foret François, Itçaina Xabier (eds), Politics of Religion in Western Europe, London, Routledge, pp.144-169.

in Jean-Benoit Pilet, William Cross (eds). The Politics of Party Leadership: A Cross-National Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Forthcoming, 2015.

In this chapter we explore party renewal through leadership selection, and more generally what ex... more In this chapter we explore party renewal through leadership selection, and more generally what explains the selection of different types of leaders. Parties often see leadership change as a chance for renewal, especially when the leadership selection takes place after an electoral setback (Wauters, 2013). Most incumbents are in fact pushed from the job after an electoral defeat and many parties select a new leader when in opposition. Thus, they might pick leaders with certain characteristics: younger, less experienced politically (Pilet and Cross, 2014). The interesting question is what variables influence the selection of leaders without prior political experience and that are younger (if compared to previous party leaders). We test if the type of selectorate used results in different types of leaders given that we argue that parties in need of renewal are more likely to choose more inclusive selectorates (Cross and Blais, 2012).

in Van haute E., Gauja, A. (eds.) ”Party membership and activism”, London, Routledge, 2015

In this chapter we explore the meaning, nature and role of party membership in Italy. In a countr... more In this chapter we explore the meaning, nature and role of party membership in Italy. In a country traditionally characterized by particracy, high levels of political participation and strong cleavage politics, two opposing trends are currently developing: a generalized decline of the mass party model and a certain resiliency of ideological partisan ties. In Italy, party members remain quite active if compared to the levels of overall mobilization in other countries. Italian parties still rely on strong societal bases. Their organizational openness and permeability is increasing, but they still reserve a relevant role to their grass-roots.

in: Jean-Benoit Pilet, William Cross, 2013, The Selection of Political Party Leaders in Contemporary Parliamentary Democracies, 2014

The quality of representative government hinges on the existence of some relationship between ele... more The quality of representative government hinges on the existence of some relationship between elected representatives and the represented. Representatives across the globe return to their districts and choose from culturally-defined action repertoires to keep in touch with constituents and gain their support. But what explains variation in the strength of legislators’ commitment to constituency representation? The chapter develops and tests an explanatory model including contextual, party-level, and individual-level factors. It demonstrates that electoral institutions shape legislators’ constituency orientation, but the effect of electoral incentives is mediated by how members of parliament conceive of the process of political representation. The level of government and scope of regionalisation, in addition, have an independent impact.

in Fusaro, C. And Kreppel A., (eds.) “Politica in Italia 2014”, Bologna , Il Mulino, 2014, pp. 71-94., 2014

in : Régis Dandoy and Arjan Schakel, 2013, Regional and National Elections in Western Europe, 2013

in Sandri, Giulia et al. (eds.), « L’état de la démocratie en Italie », Bruxelles, Editons de l’Université de Bruxelles, 2013, pp. 9-20, 2013

», in Pallaver, Gunther et Wagemann, Claudius (eds), « Challenges for Alpine Political Parties », Studienverlag, Innsbruck, 2012, pp. 81-100., 2012

in Foret François, Itçaina Xabier (eds), “Politics of Religion in Western Europe Modernities in conflict?", London, Routledge, 2011, pp. 144-169., 2011

Als die Mitglieder der Europäischen Kommission am 14. Januar 2004 den EURichtlinienentwurf über D... more Als die Mitglieder der Europäischen Kommission am 14. Januar 2004 den EURichtlinienentwurf über Dienstleistungen annahmen, rechnete niemand in Brüssel oder den europäischen Hauptstädten mit dem politischen Sturm, der die Technokraten in Brüssel im darauf folgenden Jahr erwartet – und noch weniger mit der anhaltenden, existentiellen Krise, in die die gesamte Europäische Union gestürzt wurde. Ein bis dahin unbekannter Name, Frits Bolkestein, niederländischer EU-Binnenmarktkommissar und Initiator der Richtlinie, sollte zum Symbol der Spaltung Europas über die Frage werden, welche sozioökonomische Richtung angesichts der weltweiten Entwicklungen, die Europa an den Rand zu drängen drohen, einzuschlagen sei. In diesem Zusammenhang bildete die Stimulierung des innereuropäischen Dienstleistungsmarkts, welcher als zu zerstückelt und von den Mitgliedstaaten überreguliert galt, das Herzstück der Lissabon- Strategie zur Förderung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und des Wachstums der EU. Aus diesem Grund stieß ein Richtlinienentwurf, der die Hindernisse auf dem Weg zu einem freien Dienstleistungsverkehr beseitigte, auf relativ breite Zustimmung in der Kommission, den Mitgliedstaaten und im Europäischen Parlament. Dennoch wurde der Vorschlag des niederländischen Kommissars als zu radikal angesehen und löste eine beispiellose Welle sozialer und politischer Proteste aus, was nach zwei Jahren eines langen und schwierigen Mitentscheidungsverfahrens zur Verabschiedung eines deutlich abgeänderten Textes führte. Staatspräsident Jacques Chirac persönlich machte Frankreichs gesamten Einfluss geltend, um eine deutliche Änderung des Textes zu bewirken. Die Besonderheit der Diskussion in Frankreich besteht in der engen Verbindung zwischen der Bolkestein-Richtlinie und der Referendumskampagne zum Europäischen Verfassungsvertrag. Die Heftigkeit, mit der die Öffentlichkeit in Frankreich gegen die Dienstleistungsrichtlinie protestierte, wird im Übrigen von allen Beobachtern als einer der Hauptgründe für das Scheitern des Referendums zur EU-Verfassung vom 29. Mai 2005 angesehen. Die Bolkestein-Episode führte zur Herauskristallisierung eines europafeindlichen Diskurses angesichts eines als zu „liberal1“ empfundenen Europas. Dieser Diskurs wurde nicht nur mehrheitlich von der öffentlichen Meinung übernommen, sondern setzte sich auch bei der politischen Führung durch, bis er in den europäischen Institutionen zur „Position Frankreichs“ wurde. So scheint es, auch wenn es korrekter wäre, von französischen Diskursen im Plural zu sprechen, als sei die Kritik an einem „liberalen Europa“ in Frankreich außergewöhnlich stark legitimiert, was zweifellos eine französische Besonderheit darstellt. Um die Ursachen und die Tragweite der Position Frankreichs im Konflikt um die Bolkestein-Richtlinie sowohl theoretisch als auch empirisch zu erklären, formulieren wir zwei Hypothesen: Aus einer dem diskursiven Institutionalismus nahen Sicht soll gezeigt werden, dass es bei der Referendumskampagne zum Verfassungsvertrag die Gleichsetzung der Bolkestein-Richtlinie mit einem „liberalen Europa“, dem Schreckgespenst der Linken, war, die den französischen Präsidenten gezwungen hat, sich gegen diese auszusprechen, obwohl er für eine Liberalisierung der Dienstleistungen war. Daran anschließend wird herausgearbeitet, dass die französische Position, die in der Folge von anderen sozialen und politischen Akteuren in Europa aufgegriffen wurde, einen wichtigen Einfluss auf den Entscheidungsprozess hatte, der zur Annahme des endgültigen Textes der Dienstleistungsrichtlinie geführt hat. Dazu wird zunächst geklärt, inwiefern die Debatte über die Bolkestein-Richtlinie wichtig ist für das Verständnis des aktuellen Diskurses der Franzosen zum Thema Europa. Desweiteren werden die theoretischen und methodologischen Instrumente erläutert, die für die Durchführung der Analyse am geeignetsten erscheinen, bevor die eigentliche empirische Analyse beschrieben wird.

in Pascal DELWIT, Emilie VAN HAUTE (eds), «Le vote des Belges. Le comportement électoral des Bruxellois et des Wallons aux élections du 10 juin 2007», Bruxelles, Editions de l’Université de Bruxelles, 2008, pp 39-53., 2008

Pascal DELWIT, Emilie VAN HAUTE (eds), «Le vote des Belges. Le comportement électoral des Bruxellois et des Wallons aux élections du 10 juin 2007», Bruxelles, Editions de l’Université de Bruxelles, 2008, pp 25-37, 2008

Regional & Federal Studies, 2012

Comparative European Politics, 2013

In this article, we analyse the mayoral open primaries held from 2004 to 2015. We empirically ass... more In this article, we analyse the mayoral open primaries held from 2004 to 2015. We empirically assess their functioning and their effectiveness, especially in terms of competitiveness and turnout. We also explore the dynamics of diffusion of this instrument of intra-party democracy over time, across parties and across geographical areas. Moreover, we provide an exploratory account of the electoral consequences of mayoral primaries in terms of three dimensions of analysis: the type of municipality in which primaries are held, the features of the primary election contest, and the characteristics of the subsequent mayoral elections. Our results show that local primaries are characterized by two main features: they are fairly institutionalized, and a contagion effect across parties and geographical areas is emerging. In addition, they are quite competitive and our data show that, contrary to popular belief, external and/or more ideologically extreme candidates are less likely to win.

Italian Politics, Volume 29, Number 1, Summer 2014, pp. 64-85(22) DOI: 10.3167/ip.2014.290105, 2014

In 2013, Italian voters were called to the ballot boxes not only to renew Parliament but also to ... more In 2013, Italian voters were called to the ballot boxes not only to renew Parliament but also to elect about 600 local councils. In several cases, serious political scandals had led to early elections. An analysis of electoral supply, campaigns, and results suggests the emergence of an ambivalent pattern: on the one hand, regional and local elections appear to be “second order” if we look at the level of turnout; on the other hand, they appear to be “first order” if we look at party/coalition preferences. Except in highly regionalized party systems (e.g., in Valle d'Aosta, Alto Adige/Südtirol, and Trentino), mainstream parties/coalitions performed better in regional/local elections than in the national election. The victory of the center-left coalition and the bipolar dynamic of competition appeared to be stronger at the sub-national level than at the national one.

Italian Political Science Review, Apr 23, 2015

We consider the effect of primary elections on party membership and electoral behaviour. Direct d... more We consider the effect of primary elections on party membership and electoral behaviour. Direct democracy instruments trigger significant changes in the role and behaviour of grassroots members. The case of the Italian centre-left parties, and particularly the Democratic Party, is in this sense relevant, as for over a decade these parties have been reaching out to supporters in order to include them into decision-making processes, such as the selection of party leaders and candidates to legislative and executive offices. The distinction between members and supporters has blurred. The article focuses on voting behaviour and party attachment of three different groups of primary voters – namely, party members, supporters, and external voters. What is the difference between these three groups with regard to voting behaviour and motivations in primary elections? And what is the difference with regard to voting intentions in general elections? We examine these issues using original survey data collected in 2012 during the centre-left coalition’s primary elections. We highlight the consequences of the differences between members and supporters with regard to their voting behaviour and motivations.

PArticipation and COnflict (PACO) Issue 8(1) 2015: 190 - 214, Mar 2015

Facing a crucial legitimacy crisis, many Western European political parties have recently undergo... more Facing a crucial legitimacy crisis, many Western European political parties have recently undergone various forms of organizational changes by adopting procedures for increasing intra-democracy: internal ballots, internal referenda, primary elections and so on. Direct democracy is now used in a wide range of decision-making procedures such as candidate and leadership selection (Cross and Katz, 2013). These reforms have pro-vided new opportunities for participation to party members. What happens to more traditional elements of party internal structures when such instruments of intra-party democracy are adopted? And more specifically, how are such changes perceived by the party base? This paper explores the attitudes and behaviors of members with regard to intra-party democracy procedures. On the basis of a case study (Belgium) and of an original dataset, the paper explores the political consequences of intra-party democracy. We show that members’ satisfaction with the party and their degree of previous internal activism affect the level of involvement in intra-party democracy activities. However, the dissatisfaction of the party base vis-à-vis of the membership role is growing. Intra-party democratization seems to limit the organizational function of the grass-roots membership to a ‘cheerleading’ role.

Religion, State and Society, Oct 2014

Italy is a predominantly Catholic country that developed historically on the basis of a strong, d... more Italy is a predominantly Catholic country that developed historically on the basis of a strong, dominant religion and weak state institutions. Yet, openly clerical parties, direct advocates of the interests of the Catholic Church, have nowadays virtually disappeared and the relevance of the religious cleavage is decreasing, in favour of a more indirect support for these interests, mainly among moderate and conservative forces. Although the overall level of secularisation in Italy has increased, the degree of religiosity of Italian society remains one of the highest of the 27 member-states of the European Union (EU) and polarisation over religious issues in domestic politics remains high, particularly regarding moral values and family matters. In our study we explore the role of religion within the Italian political sphere with regard to the functioning of political representation, by taking into account the sub-national, national and European levels of government. We focus on the attitudes and behaviours of Italian political elites at the EU level. We hypothesise a strong influence of religion on the articulation between national and European politics. Our findings consistently show that the degree of religiosity of the Italian delegation to the European Parliament (EP) is high. However, the impact of such a high degree of religiosity among the members of the EP (MEPs) on their political activities appears less direct than one might predict, while the degree of political secularism is higher among Italian MEPs than among their national or regional counterparts. When we discuss a case study, namely the accession of Turkey to the EU, our data show that the religious attitudes of Italian MEPs play a crucial role in their stance on Turkish accession. The picture that emerges is thus nuanced. Religion significantly impacts on Italian MEPs’ ideological, political and moral attitudes, but plays a smaller role in their activities; while their left-right collocation emerges as the most relevant predictor, despite a number of exceptions.

Comparative European Politics, 2013

Acta Politica 48, 167-191, 2013

Acta Politica 48, 68-91, 2013

Politics & Policy, Jan 1, 2010

Cultures & Conflits, Jan 1, 2011

Quaderni dell’Osservatorio Elettorale , vol. 59, n° 2, 2008, pp.63-96

Ethnopolitics, 2012

The French-speaking minority within the Italian part of the Alpine region has been politically mo... more The French-speaking minority within the Italian part of the Alpine region has been politically mobilized since the beginning of the twentieth century. The party politics of the Aosta Valley region have been traditionally shaped on the ethno-linguistic, rural–urban and centre–periphery cleavages. The main minority nationalist party claiming to represent the French-speaking community of the region is the Union Valdôtaine (UV). This paper aims to explore the role of the main political actor of this Alpine region, the UV. The UV's ideological positions will be analysed, and also its responses to the external pressures that the party is currently facing: gaining political representation, immigration, and the processes of European integration and of regionalization of the Italian state. On the basis of an analysis of party manifestos, this paper will argue that the UV has strategically employed identity issues to secure its political survival.

Regional & Federal Studies, 2012

Challenges of Democracy in the 21st Century. Concepts, Methods, Causality and the Quality of Democracy, 2018

This chapter develops specific methodological and analytical instruments for evaluating how democ... more This chapter develops specific methodological and analytical instruments for evaluating how democratic regions have developed different institutional structures and how these variations can impact on their public policy capabilities. It applies Arend Lijphart's analytical approach to regional political systems of federal and decentralized countries in Western Europe. The chapter develops research design for assessing to what extent regional institutions and processes vary within countries and across countries and, to what extent regional institutions correspond to the 'majoritarian versus consensus' model elaborated by Lijphart almost two decades ago. It overcomes nation-centric bias in mainstream research on quality of democracy by integrating existing scholarship on democratic governance with tailored research designs aimed at measuring democratic quality in multilevel systems. The chapter discusses the regional dimension of assessment of democratic performance of contemporary political regimes. It elaborates original research design that analyses the cross-time, cross-section interplay between sub-national, national or even supranational systems of governance, to examine causes and effects in interregional variation.

- Tuñón, Jorge. and Sandri, Giulia (2012): “Le regioni sulla scena internazionale: il caso della ... more - Tuñón, Jorge. and Sandri, Giulia (2012): “Le regioni sulla scena internazionale: il caso della Spagna”, in Vellano, Michele. y Vesan, Patrik (ed) (2013): Le regioni sulla scena internazionale: il caso della Valle d´Aosta nel contesto italiano ed europeo. Rubbettino Editore, Fondation Emile Chanoux, (Italy).

Cultures & conflits, 2010