Multilevel party organizations in a fragmented presidential system: The case of Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article analyzes the combined impact of hitherto understudied factors in the literature about multilevel parties – presidentialism, party agency, and party system fragmentation – on the vertical integration of party organizations, using Brazil as a case study. We rely on original data on party funding and intra-party interventions, party statutes, and secondary literature to compare the multilevel distribution of powers within the major Brazilian parties. The findings show that state branches receive overall more autonomy to deal with their own regional matters than powers to participate in central party decisions. The differences among parties can be attributed mainly to strategic choices: the parties that usually engage in presidential races grant lower levels of autonomy to their regional branches and face fewer pressures from regional elites. The findings have theoretical and empirical implications beyond the case, as they suggest important connections between multilevel party organizations, institutions, and party strategies.