8 research outputs found
Duverger and the Jacobins
Against the heightened awareness brought about by the bicentennial of
the French Revolution, it is surprising to (re)discover that Duverger
chooses to dismiss the Jacobins as a mere parliamentary group. In fact,
they became the first mass party. This is the key to an organizational
explanation of the course taken by the Revolution. It raises new and
compelling doubts about the identification of mass parties with the
working class and about the democratic credentials of such parties. It
also raises the broader question whether the modernity of political
parties is a matter of organization or, rather, of legitimacy