The Regulation of Parties and Pressure Groups Compared: Evidence from Modern European Constitutions

This paper provides a cross-country comparative analysis of constitutional regulations applied to parties and pressure groups. It builds on previous work mainly directed at parties (Biezen and Borz 2012, Biezen and Borz 2009, Janda 2005) and bridges the scholarships on the regulation of parties, pressure groups and constitutionalism. The main question is whether the legal regulation of parties and pressure groups makes them complementary or rival intermediaries between citizens and the state in a modern democracy. The analysis advances and tests two models of regulation for parties and pressure groups. Overall the results show more support for the complementary agents model and only partial support for the rival beneficiaries model which allow us to better understand their functions and roles in a modern democracy.