Searching for the Right Organization: Ideology and Party Structure in East-Central Europe

The article examines four centre-right parties in East-Central Europe in order to assess the impact of ideology on party organization and revisit the thesis of organizational weakness in the region. The data collected indicate that, together with electoral success, inherited resources and national context, ideology does indeed shape the style of organization. Analysis of temporal changes uncovers a degree of organizational vitality that is surprising given that the literature on both centre-right and on post-communist politics points towards organizational weakness.