Camille KELBEL
PhD Dissertation: “Itineraries of Spoiled Children: An Analysis of Candidate Selection Processes for European Elections.”
Table of Content
Acknowledgements... i
List of Abbreviations ... vi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1. Research statement ... 21.2. What are the candidate selection processes for European elections? ... 3
1.3. Candidate selection for European elections: why should we care? ... 6
1.3.1. Political and societal contribution... 6
1.3.2. Contribution to the literature: three perspectives on candidate selection for European elections ... 10
1.3.3. What the study does not do ... 14
1.4. The approach of this study... 16
1.5. Structure of the study ... 18
CHAPTER 2: STATE OF THE ART & THEORY ... 20
2.1. Introduction ... 20
2.2. State of the Art ... 21
2.2.1. What we know about candidate selection for European elections…and what we don't ... 21
2.2.2. Identifying candidate selection as part of the relationship between political parties and the EU ... 39
2.3. Theoretical framework ... 52
2.3.1. Of recruitment, institutions, and party behaviour ... 54
2.3.2. Toward a theory of party behaviour in multi-level settings ... 64
2.4. Conclusion ... 81
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODOLOGY ... 84
3.1. Introduction ... 84
3.2. Mixed methods: What? Why? How? ... 86
3.2.1. What are mixed methods? Definitions and types of MM research designs ... 86
3.2.2. What are mixed methods good for, and why use them in studies of candidate selection processes?... 88
3.2.3. How are mixed methods used in this dissertation? ... 90
3.3. The data sources: case selection and data collection ... 91
3.3.1. Case selection ... 91
3.3.2. Data collection ... 92
3.4. Towards the data analysis ... 99
Camille KELBEL
PhD Dissertation: “Itineraries of Spoiled Children: An Analysis of Candidate Selection Processes for European Elections.”
3.4.2. The determinants of candidate selection processes (Chapter 5) ... 100
3.4.3. The differences between rules and practices (Chapter 6) ... 101
3.4.4. Case study (Chapter 7) ... 103
3.5. Conclusion……….…..….…………106
CHAPTER 4: PATHWAYS TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT – An Analysis of Formal
Candidate Selections Procedures for European Elections ...108
4.1. Introduction ...108
4.2. Analytical framework... 111
4.2.1. The selectorate: assessing the inclusiveness of the processes ... 112
4.2.2. The territorial level: assessing the decentralisation of the processes ... 112
4.2.3. Introducing the ‘complexity’ dimension ... 112
4.2.4. Eligibility criteria and intra-party voting systems ... 113
4.3. Operationalisation ... 113
4.3.1. Measuring the inclusiveness of the selectorate ... 113
4.3.2. Accounting for the degree of decentralisation ... 115
4.3.3. Measuring ‘complexity’ ... 116
4.3.4. Reporting eligibility criteria and voting systems ... 116
4.4. Analysis and findings ... 117
4.4.1. The selectorate ... 117
4.4.2. Decentralisation ... 129
4.4.3. The overall elaboration of rules ... 130
4.4.4. Voting systems ... 132
4.4.5. Individual and collective criteria ... 134
4.5. Interpretation of the findings ...137
4.5.1. Variation ... 138
4.5.2. Exclusiveness and centralisation ... 140
4.5.3. The complexity and shared nature of the selection processes ... 144
4.5.4. Criteria and voting system ... 144
4.6. Conclusion ...145
CHAPTER 5: SECRET GARDEN OR JUNGLE OUT THERE? The Determinants of
Candidate Selection Processes for European Elections ...147
5.1. Introduction ...147
5.2. The determinants of candidate selection: theory and hypotheses ...150
5.2.1. Hypothesising the impact of home-bred considerations on parties’ choices of EP selection methods .. 151
Camille KELBEL
PhD Dissertation: “Itineraries of Spoiled Children: An Analysis of Candidate Selection Processes for European Elections.”
5.3. Data and Methods ...160
5.3.1. Measuring the dependent variables ... 160
5.3.2. Independent variables ... 161
5.3.3. Control variables ... 165
5.4. Analyses and findings ...166
5.4.1. Cluster analysis: dismissing the effect of the country ... 166
5.4.2. Bivariate analyses ... 168
5.4.3. Multivariate analyses ... 177
5.5. Discussion and conclusions ...187
CHAPTER 6: “
I BEND, INDEED, BUT NEVER BREAK.” Formal Rules and Informal
Processes of Candidate Selection for European Elections ... 191
6.1. Introduction ... 191
6.2. Theoretical considerations...193
6.2.1. Why informality should “rule” candidate selection for European elections? ... 194
6.2.2. How may selection practices differ from rules (if at all) ... 197
6.3. Data and methods ...199
6.3.1. Data ... 199
6.3.2. Analytical framework ... 199
6.4. Results ... 202
6.5. Conclusions ... 208
CHAPTER 7: WAITING FOR THE GREEN LIGHT - Tracing the Selection of Candidates for European Elections in the French Green Party EELV
...213
7.1. Introduction ...213
7.2. Case study ...216
7.2.1. The green parties as a most likely case of “intra-party democratisation”... 216
7.2.2. The French greens’ institutionalisation & “intra-party democratisation” ... 217
7.2.3. EELV and the 2014 EP candidate selection: contextualisation and outcomes ... 218
7.3. Methods & Data ...221
7.3.1. Methods: EOPT ... 221
7.3.2. Data ... 222
7.4. Theory and hypotheses ... 223
7.4.1. The effect of dominant party actors’ preferences over selection processes ... 223
7.4.2. The appropriate behaviour of parties in a multi-level setting: hypothesising the role of ideological considerations in EP nominations ... 225
7.4.3. Incorporating external considerations in implementing selection processes ... 227
Camille KELBEL
PhD Dissertation: “Itineraries of Spoiled Children: An Analysis of Candidate Selection Processes for European Elections.” 7.5.1. Part 1 ... 228 7.5.2. Part 2 ... 231 7.5.3. Part 3 ... 235 7.5.4. Part 4 ... 237 7.6. Conclusion ... 243
CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS... 246
8.1. Introduction ... 2468.2. What are the main results? ... 247
8.2.1. Summary of the results ... 247
8.2.2. Why does it matter? ... 249
8.2.3. Are these results surprising? ... 254
8.2.4. What I did not find... 255
8.3. What does it mean for (intra-party) democracy…and the EU? ... 257
8.3.1. Intra-party democracy and EP candidate selection ... 258
8.3.2. Democracy “at large” and EP candidate selection ... 262
8.4. Future research avenues ... 267
