The professionalization of political parties in Belgium: the case of gender equality

Political parties throughout Europe are witnessing a significant professionalization of their daily functioning. Professionalization refers to an institutional process “by which professionals become more central to an organization, in this case a party†(Webb & Kolodny 2006: 338). The centrality of professionals is most obvious in parties’ reliance on an expanding body of professional staff members and experts with specialized skills (a.o. marketing professionals, consultants, spin-doctors and public relations experts) performing traditional party functions and supporting the leadersh... Mehr ...