Candidate Selection Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Candidate selection is one of the first things political parties must do before an election. Those who are eventually elected to office are the successful candidates whom the parties previously selected, and the ones who will subsequently determine what the party looks like and does. Because it is relatively easy for parties to alter, changes in candidate selection will affect politics inside both the party and the legislature, in expected and unexpected ways.

Figure 3. Party Selectorates

Candidate selection takes place almost entirely within parties. There are very few countries (e.g., Germany, Finland, Norway) where the legal system specifies criteria for candidate selection, and only in the United States does the system regulate the process. In most countries, the parties themselves determine the rules for the selection of candidates.

Criteria For Classification

In any analysis of candidate selection methods, the unit of analysis is a single party in a particular country at a specific time. Classification is based on four criteria: the selectorate, candidacy, decentralization, and voting versus appointment.

The selectorate is the body that selects the candidates and is classified according to its inclusiveness. At one extreme, the selectorate is the most inclusive (i.e., the entire electorate); at the other extreme, the selectorate is the most exclusive (i.e., a nominating entity of one leader). The middle of the continuum is when the selectorate consists of party delegates, such as a party convention. Candidacy defines who can present oneself as the candidate of a party. At the inclusive pole, every voter is eligible to stand as a candidate. As one moves toward the exclusive pole, one encounters a series of restrictive conditions, such as minimum length of membership. Party selection methods can be decentralized in two senses: territorial, that is, local selectorates nominate candidates; and social, that is, representation for such groups as women and minorities. Usually candidates are appointed in the exclusive selectorates, whereas inclusive selectorates vote to choose their candidates (see Figure 1, below).

Political Consequences

Different candidate selection methods produce different consequences. For example, parties that use appointment methods balance representation better than parties that use voting systems. Territorial decentralization could lead to increased responsiveness of representatives to the demands of their particular constituencies. Concerning candidacy, parties can influence the composition of their party by adopting term limits. The selectorate, however, determines the most significant and far-reaching consequences. The political consequences of the inclusiveness of the selectorate are assessed according to four important aspects of democracy: participation, representation, competition, and responsiveness.

There is a difference between the quantity of participants and the quality of their participation. In terms of quantity, the more inclusive selectorates are the more participatory ones. The picture becomes less clear when analyzing the quality of membership. Although citizens perceive the adoption of more inclusive selectorates positively, most do not join parties. In addition, many of those who do join do not participate in their party’s candidate selection process and are not affiliated for more than a short period.

Smaller, exclusive selectorates can balance representation. When selection is controlled by a party elite who appoints candidates—and to a lesser extent, when it takes place between party delegates who can be coordinated—there are more chances that ideological and social groups within the party will be allocated safe positions on the party list, or safe seats.

Party delegates are more competitive than primaries because of the shorter “distance” between candidates and their selectors. The party elite is expected to be even more competitive, but suffers from a lack of popular legitimacy and, to justify decisions, the party elite often presents a list largely composed of incumbents. A nonlinear relationship results between inclusiveness and competition: The most inclusive selectorates are moderately competitive, party delegates are the most competitive, and the more exclusive selectorates are the least competitive.

Inclusiveness also influences responsiveness. Legislators who are selected by a small selectorate, composed of party leaders, owe their positions to the party leaders and the legislators are likely to be party players. Legislators selected by larger party agencies are often party players but are also attuned to the interests of their power base. Legislators selected in primaries need to reach a massive, fluid audience and will behave more like individuals than team players.

Conclusion

The study of candidate selection reveals that more intraparty democracy does not necessarily lead to better democracy. For example, parties that select their candidates through primaries enjoy high levels of participation but have trouble balancing representation, fostering competition, or maintaining cohesion. Candidate selection can thus affect the essence of modern democratic politics.

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