The report highlights how democratic innovations—such as participatory debating and digital interactivity—interact with existing party structures. It examines the "hybridization" of new participatory tools with traditional political marketing and internal party power dynamics. Key Findings
: There is a persistent tension between the horizontal nature of participatory democracy (citizen engagement) and the vertical hierarchy of political parties (candidate leadership and institutional control).
This report analyzes the relationship between and traditional partisan logic , specifically focusing on the case of Ségolène Royal’s 2007 presidential campaign as explored in Nicole Gauthier's doctoral research , "Innovations démocratiques et logiques partisanes : le cas de la campagne de Ségolène Royal en 2007". Executive Summary
The research, available on HAL Science , categorizes these dynamics into three main areas:
: How traditional party members perceive participatory tools as threats to established political expertise.
: The 2007 Royal campaign did not replace traditional marketing; instead, it integrated deliberative local experiences and digital tools into the broader partisan communication strategy.