This book investigates why political parties in Britain and Germany continue to prioritize membership enrollment despite the rise of modern campaign technologies like television and direct mail. Susan E. Scarrow, a scholar of comparative politics, utilizes a longitudinal analysis of party strategies over the last fifty years to explain this phenomenon. By examining historical records and conducting interviews with party officials, she argues that parties have not abandoned membership but have instead adapted their organizational models to leverage members in new, technologically mediated ways.

Political scientists recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the persistence of party membership in Western democracies. Scholars frequently cite the book for its rigorous comparative methodology and its nuanced explanation of how traditional party structures adapt to contemporary campaign pressures.