How parties behave: the role of strategy in contemporary British political parties
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis uses the concept of strategy derived from management theory to study parties In Britain during the contemporary period. It discusses the concept, nature and role of party strategy in British politics, introducing a new way of discovering how parties behave and making original observations of historical events. This thesis tackles party strategy in contemporary British politics in a number of interdisciplinary ways. It draws a theoretical definition of strategy from the management literature, suggesting that: strategy is about forming objectives given resources available and carrying out a plan to achieve those objectives with a pattern of consistency over time. Rejecting rational concepts that parties' purpose Is purely to win votes and hold office, the thesis nevertheless accepts that parties exist in part to fight elections. Drawing on the Ashridge mission diamond and making use of Budge's office seeking and policy pursuing model a theoretical view is formed that the strategic objectives of parties sit someway between Budge's two conceptual extremes, qualifying the latter with the Idea of constructive and destructive policy pursuing parties and forming an idea of an organisation's mission. This thesis Is a study of contemporary British politiCS. Drawing on political history and taking a comparative case study approach, the project describes strategic behaviour in three arenas: leadership and organisational culture; the creation of critical mass, momentous, electoral support; and the state of strategic disorder when the party endures a failure of direction. Original qualitative research was undertaken to support this approach in the form of combining existing literature from both politiCS, history and management fields with party documents and illuminating Interviews and correspondence conducted with a series of politicians close to the events described. The study compares the strategic leadership and organisational culture of Labour between 1983-87 and…
abstract: This thesis uses the concept of strategy derived from management theory to study parties In Britain during the contemporary period. It discusses the concept, nature and role of party strategy in British politics, introducing a new way of discovering how parties behave and making original observations of historical events. This thesis tackles party strategy in contemporary British politics in a number of interdisciplinary ways. It draws a theoretical definition of strategy from the management literature, suggesting that: strategy is about forming objectives given resources available and carrying out a plan to achieve those objectives with a pattern of consistency over time. Rejecting rational concepts that parties' purpose Is purely to win votes and hold office, the thesis nevertheless accepts that parties exist in part to fight elections. Drawing on the Ashridge mission diamond and making use of Budge's office seeking and policy pursuing model a theoretical view is formed that the strategic objectives of parties sit someway between Budge's two conceptual extremes, qualifying the latter with the Idea of constructive and destructive policy pursuing parties and forming an idea of an organisation's mission. This thesis Is a study of contemporary British politiCS. Drawing on political history and taking a comparative case study approach, the project describes strategic behaviour in three arenas: leadership and organisational culture; the creation of critical mass, momentous, electoral support; and the state of strategic disorder when the party endures a failure of direction. Original qualitative research was undertaken to support this approach in the form of combining existing literature from both politiCS, history and management fields with party documents and illuminating Interviews and correspondence conducted with a series of politicians close to the events described. The study compares the strategic leadership and organisational culture of Labour between 1983-87 and…
author: Barber, Stephen D.
keywords: 320 Political science
date published: 2003-09
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:54:36Z
provider: London Metropolitan University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: London Metropolitan University