information and expertise requisite to cogent policy formation are presumably available principally at the top levels of party hierarchy. Nevertheless, parties differ considerably on the extent to which lower organs participate in policy making. Although there is some doubt about their influence on ultimate party policy, constituency associations within the British Labour Party, for example, continually formulate and press resolutions upon the party at its annual conferences. The program of the Indian National Congress, on the other hand, is determined by a Working Committee dominated by government officials. Numerous personalistic parties constitute the extreme case for the centralization of power in making policy as the party position is expressed--or "revealed," as it were--by the party leader.

"Policy" usually suggests the party's position on substantive issues of government, but "policy" can also refer to the party's handling of intraparty affairs, such as campaign strategy. Our main concern in this variable is to pinpoint the locus of power in determining the party's position on substantive issues of government. Our concern is limited to the determination of party policy and not its implementation in government.

Operational Definition. A high score on this variable corresponds to the determination and promulgation of policy at elite levels of the organization and is indicative of centralization of power. The lowest applicable score was coded.

0	Responsibility for formulating policy is diffused throughout the party; little or no structure is imposed on this aspect of party activity.
1	Major policy stances are commonly determined by polling party members.
2	Local party organizations enact policy resolutions, argue them at the national level (usually the party conference or convention), and frequently win changes in party policy.
3	Major policy positions are formulated at the national level, but they are submitted to lower levels of the party (local or regional organizations) for approval.
4	Local party organizations often enact policy resolutions and submit them for national consideration, but open argument in behalf of the resolutions is not a common practice, and decision on the resolutions is not required.
5	Major policy positions are determined by a national party congress, conference, or convention composed of delegates from local or regional organizations; policy positions may be stated provisionally by individual party leaders, but approval of the position by the party congress is required before the policy statement is considered to be effectively binding as party policy.
6	Major policy positions are determined by the national committee, party council, or parliamentary party organizations; these positions are regarded as "party policy" without need for further approval by other party organs.
7	Major policy positions are determined and announced by the party leader or a small subgroup of the national committee, for example, an executive committee or "politburo." These positions are effectively regarded as "party policy" without need for approval by other party organs. (Note that a distinction must be drawn between the leaders policy--sometimes pronounced by a leader who is also the nation's chief executive--and the party's policy. With respect to the United States, for example, the president is not empowered to formulate or create party policy, although he may implement it. The distinction is whether the announced policy is widely regarded as party policy or the personal policy of the officeholder, acting in his capacity as a governmental official and policy maker.)

Coding Results. The literature reveals enough of the political process within parties to assess the locus of

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