The Experimental Catch-up Democratization of Intra-party Leadership Selection in Germany

Abstract In many Western democracies, the intra-party selection of party leaders has evolved to become significantly more democratic. In the case of Germany, a country known for its extraordinarily stable and coronation-like recruitment conditions, the recent changes to the Christian Democratic Union and Social Democratic Party will be described as experimental catch-up democratization. This article focuses on the input dimension of intra-party democracy (IPD). It is based upon research that compares longitudinal data from 2017 to 2022 (when the most significant changes took place) and from 1990 to 2016 (to reveal the traditional selection patterns). The analysis includes the indicators of (more) self-candidacies, (intensified) competition among candidates, decentralization, and (greater) inclusion of the rank-and-file members. By conducting a detailed investigation of these two parties, this article contributes to the international debates on IPD and leadership selection change.