De organisatorische structuur der Nederlandse politieke partijen

After having stressed the importance of the organizational structure of the political parties in a democracy, the author examines the structure of the ten political parties which had, in the period 1963—1967, representatives in the Second Chamber of Parliament, paying particular attention to the extent to which the members have a say in the party. On the basis of the different kinds of elections (local, provincial. First Chamber, Second Chamber) the organs of the party are divided into six levels (table 1). For each level the powers of the organs in question are discussed, in particular the power to elect, to nominate or to delegate individuals in the organs placed higher in table 1. The party-members, the lowest level in table 1, have only the power to elect, to nominate or to delegate for the next level. For all the other levels their power in this respect is indirect. In general it can be said that thè higher the level of the organ, the more indirect the power of the party-member is concerning the composition of that organ. In the composition of these higher placed organs, other organs — on the the composition of which the party members have no or little influence — have an important say. This kind of organizational structure may easiliy give rise to feelings of frustration on the part of the party-members and hampers their activation and participation