Cohort: POLS 41

Topic of the thesis: Office or Policy for the underprivileged groups? The role of parties' internal sub-organizations in the European context.

Abstract: This research investigates the impact of internal sub-organizations formed by underprivileged groups—such as youth, women, ethnic minorities, or LGBTQIA+ members—on the behavior and structure of political parties in European democracies. This project draws from the growing and innovative literature on intra-party dynamics, rather than the more extensive one that considers political parties as unitary actors. In particular, it focuses on ancillary and affiliated organizations, two subtypes of collateral organizations that are formally linked to mother parties and usually targeted to specific social groups. By analyzing internal sub-organizations, the project seeks to understand whether and how they shape candidate selection processes, policy positions, and the broader strategic behavior of political parties. This research draws from a multidisciplinary body of work in political science and employing an innovative methodological approach for this strand of literature which combines quantitative, large-N methods, and qualitative case studies. The study aims to fill three gaps in existing research. First, it assesses how internal sub-organizations affect descriptive and substantive representation of underprivileged groups. Second, it explores their influence on intra-party democracy and leadership dynamics, particularly in light of institutional rules and strategic party behavior. Third, it seeks to provide a systematic mapping of these organizations across European parties, expanding existing datasets both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.
Methodologically, the project combines quantitative methods – applied to analyze party documents, social media content and legislative data – with selected case studies in a comparative nested analysis framework in order to test hypotheses about how internal sub-organizations interact with and are represented within their mother parties in terms of policies and offices. The ultimate goal is to enhance understanding of how internal party structures affect political representation and inclusion in modern democracies, where the relevance of traditional party systems is being redefined amid growing demands for political representation and participation.

Research interests: Party politics, political representation dynamics, political parties' collateral organizations, intra-party democracy, party factions, candidate selection procedures, text analysis, topic models and social network analysis, quantitative studies

Graduated from: University of Milan
Degrees obtained: BA in International Politics, Law and Economics (IPLE) and MA in Economics and Political Science (EPS)
E-mail address: lorenzo.colombo07@universitadipavia.it