Parties, organizational capacities and external change: New Zealand's National and Labour parties, candidate selection and the advent of MMP

• Published in: Political Science Vol. 63; no. 2; pp. 205 - 218
• Main Authors: Stephens, Gregory R, Leslie, John
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: London, England Routledge 01.12.2011; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: Candidates; Elections; Electoral reform; Electoral Systems; Labor Parties; Labour parties; Legislative bodies; Management; Mixed Member Proportional electoral system; New Zealand; New Zealand Labour Party; New Zealand National Party; Organizational Structure; party adaptation; Party organization; Party systems; Political Campaigns; Political parties; Proportional representation; Reform; Voting; electoral reform; New Zealand National Party; party adaptation; Mixed Member Proportional electoral system; New Zealand Labour Party; party organization
• ISSN: 0032-3187; 2041-0611; 2041-0611
• DOI: 10.1177/0032318711424087

How and how well do different parties manage similar environmental changes? How do organizations shape parties' adaptation to change? In 1996 New Zealand replaced its Single Member Plurality (SMP) electoral system with a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system. MMP added an overriding proportional tier to national elections and compelled the major incumbent parties, Labour and National, to undertake new tasks: the creation of national lists of candidates and the construction of nationwide campaigns for the 'party vote'. This paper compares how Labour and National organized candidate selection in response to MMP. It demonstrates how and why Labour possessed organizational capacities to meet these challenges that National lacked before the advent of MMP and for several years after it.