Party Finance
How parties raise and spend money, the regulations governing political finance, and the corrupting influence of money in party politics.
Following the Money
Parties fund their activities through several sources: member dues, individual donations, corporate donations (where legal), state funding (public subsidies based on vote share or seat count), and increasingly, online small-dollar fundraising. The mix varies by country and by party. European parties rely heavily on state funding; US parties rely more on private donations. Left-wing parties historically depended on union contributions; right-wing parties on business donors.
State funding of parties, used in most European democracies, was introduced to reduce parties' dependence on wealthy donors and level the playing field. Critics argue it makes parties dependent on the state rather than on citizens, contributing to the 'cartel party' phenomenon. The US has minimal state funding for parties; the presidential public financing system, introduced in the 1970s, was effectively abandoned after 2008 when Barack Obama demonstrated the power of online small-dollar fundraising.
