Get a Subsidy or Perish! Public Funding and Party Survival in Eastern Europe Fernando Casal Bértoa & Maria Spirova Department of Political Science Leiden University f.casal.Bé
[email protected] [email protected] The Legal Regulation of Political Parties Working Paper 29 February 2013 © The author(s), 2013 This working paper series is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC research grant RES-061-25-0080) and the European Research Council (ERC starting grant 205660). To cite this paper : Fernando Casal Bértoa and Maria Spirova (2013). ‘Get a Subsidy or Perish! Public Funding and Party Survival in Eastern Europe’, Working Paper Series on the Legal Regulation of Political Parties, No. 29. To link to this paper : http://www.partylaw.leidenuniv.nl/uploads/wp2913.pdf This paper may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. ISSN: 2211-1034 The Legal Regulation of Political Parties, working paper 29/13 Introduction 1 Much has been written about the state financing of political parties, its characteristics and its consequences for party behavior. Research has centered heavily on the effects party financing has had on issues of corruption, accountability, and transparency, and for the most part has focused on the regulation of private financing (Roper 2002, 2003; Protsyk 2002; Nassmacher 2004; Pinto-Duschinsky 2002, Smilov and Toplak, 2007). Similarly, studies have investigated the effects high dependence on public financing has had on the development of organizational structures and the internal shifts of power within individual parties (van Biezen 2003, 177–200).