Party membership might be in decline, yet most political parties are membership organisations, and party members are the principal source of candidates and officials. Studying party memberships thus gives us precious insights into trends in political representation – though collaborating with parties on this is no easy task!
Most of my work has focused on grassroots members of populist radical right (PRR) parties and their youth wings, as well as those of mainstream party youth wings. On the supply side, I have examined who party members are, why they join, and what their experiences are in these organisations. On the demand side, I have explored the recruitment and retention strategies of PRR parties.
Beyond their memberships, I am also interested in how political parties organise on the ground. I currently have two projects on this. The first, with Duncan McDonnell, looks at the presence of local party branches in the second half of the XX century using an unobtrusive method – phone directories.
The second, with Michal Grahn and Rozemarijn van Dijk, will provide the first global study of LGBTQ+ party wings and their members (see here for more information).
Books
Ammassari, S. (2026). Grassroots women in the populist radical right. Oxford University Press. [Link]
- Featured in Vrij Nederland, ‘Women really shine on the right’.
McDonnell, D., Ammassari, S., Jungar, A.-C., Jupskås, A. R., & Mudde, C. (2026). Youth wings of the populist radical right. Oxford University Press. [Link]
Select journal articles
Ammassari, S., McDonnell, D., Werner, A., Heinisch, R., Valbruzzi, M., & Wegscheider, C. (2026). More social, less material, more influenced by family ties: Why young women join political parties. European Journal of Political Research. Advance online publication. [Link] [PDF]
McDonnell, D., & Ammassari, S. (2026). The geography of the party on the ground: Local branches in Italy and Sweden in the late twentieth century. Political Geography, 125, 1-21. [Link] [PDF]
Ammassari, S. (2026). “Men’s parties”, but with more active women: Gender and party activism in the populist radical right. Comparative Political Studies, 59(5), 1083-1119. [Link] [PDF]
- Winner of the ECPR Extremism & Democracy Best Paper Prize 2023.
McDonnell, D., Ammassari, S., Valbruzzi, M., Bolin, N., Werner, A., Heinisch, R., Jungar, A.-C., & Wegscheider, C. (2025). Inside party youth wings: The YOUMEM project. Party Politics, 31(6), 1049-1063. [Link] [PDF]
Ammassari, S., McDonnell, D., & Valbruzzi, M. (2023). It’s about the type of career: The political ambition gender gap among youth wing members. European Journal of Political Research, 62(4), 1054-1077. [Link] [PDF]
Ammassari, S. (2023). It depends on personal networks: Feelings of stigmatisation among populist radical right party members. European Journal of Political Research, 62(3), 723-741. [Link] [PDF]
Working papers
Heinisch, R., Wegscheider, C., Werner, A., Ammassari, S., McDonnell, D., & Valbruzzi, M. Ready to party: Explaining electoral and social engagement of youth wing members. Revise and resubmit.
Abstract
Party youth wings are crucial sites of political socialization, yet it remains unclear how members’ motivations to join translate into political activities. This article examines how youth wing members’ career, policy, and social motivations shape engagement, arguing that the translation of motivations into participation is shaped by membership tenure and organizational context, which structure opportunities for networking and recognition. We draw on a survey of over 3,000 members from ten major centre-right and centre-left youth wings in five Western parliamentary democracies. Our analysis shows that social motivations primarily drive social activities without reducing campaign engagement, policy motivations consistently predict both campaigning and social participation, and career motivations influence activity mainly after longer membership. Party ideology moderates these patterns, with centre-right youth wings strengthening the link between policy and career motivations with campaign activity. These findings refine theories of party activism and guide parties in cultivating committed activists and future elites.
Work in progress
Grahn, M., Ammassari, S., & van Dijk, R. Rainbow wings: LGBTQ+ party wings in democracies (book manuscript).