Parties with stronger organizations are electorally more successful. The goal of this chapter is to complement the statistical results in support of this conclusion with an in-depth investigation of specific cases. The case studies enhance the analysis in several distinct ways by helping answer questions that the statistical analysis left open. First, by providing detailed contextual information about causal processes within cases, the qualitative narratives can be used to verify that the relationship between organizational strength and electoral performance is not spurious. Specifically, the case studies help assess whether the proposed causal mechanisms actually work in the expected manner and the theoretical argument is compelling.

Second, process tracing within cases also allows assessing the nature of the causal order between organizational strength and electoral performance. Third, the within-case analysis entails the examination of a diverse set of materials and allows more fine-grained measurement of the key variables. For example, the qualitative analysis can supplement the electoral returns used in Chapter 2 with parties’ own assessments of their performance as well as those reported in the media. The case studies can also take into account the long-term survival of the party. Fourth, the narratives provide another opportunity to assess the strength of the rival hypotheses including party ideology, leader effects, and patronage. The qualitative analysis also helps evaluate party performance in the context of environmental hostility, external shocks, and crises.