It is commonplace to observe that the post-crash era is defined by the rise of populist movements on both the Left and the Right, amid a trend of growing political polarization. Yet rather less remarked upon is the return of the party as a central actor in the political arena.

Across the West, and in Europe in particular, we are witnessing a resurgence of the political party. Both old parties, like Labour in Britain, and new ones, like Podemos in Spain and France Insoumise, have experienced spectacular growth in recent years, while also undergoing important organizational innovations.

This revival of the party-form is remarkable given that for many years sociologists and political scientists almost unanimously predicted that the political party was losing its primacy in a globalized and highly diversified digital society.