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Professionalism, Sociability and the Liberal Party in the Constituencies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2010

Royce Koop
Royce Koop*
Affiliation:
Queen's University
*
Royce Koop, Department of Political Studies, Queen's University, Kingston Ontario, K7L 3N6. royce.koop@queensu.ca
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Abstract

Abstract. Studies of the local organizations of Canadian political parties often neglect those organizations' small leadership groups, the local executives. This article explores and develops a classification of constituency association executives. Interviews and participant observation in the Liberal party's constituency associations reveal that executives differ in their personnel, internal relations, organization, leadership and permeability. The result of this analysis is the development of two distinct types of executives: professional and sociable. Preliminary analysis suggests that political factors—local electoral strength and the presence of members of Parliament—play a crucial role in determining the development of professional executives.

Résumé. L'étude des organisations locales des partis politiques canadiens tend à négliger le leadership de ces petites organisations, soit les comités exécutifs de comté. Cet article explore le sujet et établit une classification de ces comités. La conduite d'entrevues et une observation participative au sein des associations de circonscription du Parti libéral révèlent que les comités exécutifs diffèrent dans leur gestion des ressources humaines, leurs relations internes, leur organisation, leur leadership et leur perméabilité. Les résultats de ces analyses permettent de dégager deux types de comité exécutif de comté, soit le type social et le type professionnel. Des analyses préliminaires permettent aussi de suggérer que des facteurs politiques – la force du parti dans la circonscription et la présence d'un élu au Parlement – jouent un rôle crucial dans la formation d'un comité exécutif de type professionnel.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 43 , Issue 4 , December 2010 , pp. 893 - 913
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2010

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