Party response to membership decline: What member functions do membership parties seek to preserve?

The paper studies how SPD and CDU have responded to membership decline, and what membership functions they seek to preserve. Since the early 1990s, both parties have established a number of internal commissions to stop membership decline and reinvigorate the membership organization. The paper summarizes the commission reports’ conclusions and investigates what membership functions the parties stress as important to maintain by the reports' suggestions. The tentative finding is that the two parties seek to preserve membership for the democratic linkage it provides, rather than emphasizing any function explicitly related to electoral competition.