Zsolt Enyedi and Lukás Linek, "Searching for the Right Organization: Ideology and Party Structure in East-Central Europe," Party Politics, 14 (July, 2008), 455-477.

First paragraph:
Organization is routinely listed as one of the least well-known aspects of party behaviour (Mair, 1994; Szczerbiak, 2001). Lack of comparable knowledge of this key aspect of political parties has made systematic assessment of political developments difficult, particularly so of post-communist politics. Nevertheless, the pioneering work of a number of scholars suggests that parties in many post-communist states have weak, leader-dependent organizations (Ágh, 1998; Kopecky´, 1995; Lewis, 2000; Szczerbiak, 2001; van Biezen, 2003). Indeed, organizational weakness is often regarded as the principal reason for the volatility of post-communist party systems (Kostelecky´, 2002: 175).

Figures and Tables:

Table 1. Trends in party membership in the Czech Republic and Hungary, 1990-2005

Table 2. Proportion of state subsidies and membership fees on total party income, 2000-05 (per cent)

Table 3. Comparison of hypothesized and actual differences between centre-right and left-wing parties and trends in organizational change since the 1990s

First paragraph of conclusion:
The evidence presented in Table 3 suggests that the centre-right parties share a number of commonalities with each other and with their Western counterparts. The majority of the indicators surveyed point in the 'right' direction. Centre-right parties, as opposed to leftist parties, tend to have fewer staff members, a simpler structure, are characterized by a more personalized style of leadership, and in public office have a more elevated role.