Understanding Political Participation Green Party Membership in Scotland

Developing a framework of analysis which enables a detailed empirical investigation of Scottish Green Party membership, this is a detailed assessment of why people become members of a green party. The questions are particularly relevant in the light of declining political participation. Lynn Bennie responds to the gap in the literature on green and small parties and builds on the work of other researchers who have used similar methods to explore membership of the larger parties. The volume incorporates an extensive review of participation literature; details the history of the Scottish Green Party; documents extensive survey data of party members; and develops an understanding of motivations behind membership of a green party. It will prove ideal for courses on political behaviour and green politics, and be of interest to sociologists and political science researchers.

Contents: Introduction; The Greens in Scotland: a record of electoral events; Explaining participation: learning from social movement approaches; Who were the Scottish Greens in 1990?; How and why did the 1990 members join?; When the members joined: assessing the 1989/1990 joiner; The members in 1997; New members, old motives? Comparing Scottish Green Party members 1990 and 2002; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Lynn Bennie is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen, UK.