Cadre parties—i.e., parties dominated by politically elite groups of activists—developed in Europe and America during the 19th century. Except in some of the states of the United States, France from 1848, and the German Empire from 1871, the suffrage was largely restricted to taxpayers and property owners, and, even when the right to vote was given to larger numbers of people, political influence was essentially limited to a very small segment of the population. The mass of people were limited to the role of spectators rather than that of active participants.By the end of the 19th century the excesses of the machines and the bosses and the closed character of the parties led to the development of primary elections, in which party nominees for office were selected. The primary movement deprived party leaders of the right to dictate candidates for election. A majority of the states adopted the primary system in one form or another between 1900 and 1920. The aim of the system was to make the parties more democratic by opening them up to the general public in the hope of counterbalancing the influence of the party committees. In practice, the aim was not realized, for the committees retained the upper hand in the selection of candidates for the primaries.

Cadre parties normally organize a relatively small number of party adherents. Mass-based parties, on the other hand, unite hundreds of thousands of followers, sometimes millions. But the number of members is not the only criterion of a mass-based party. The essential factor is that such a party attempts to base itself on an appeal to the masses. It attempts to organize not only those who are influential or well known or those who represent special interest groups but rather any citizen who is willing to join the party. If such a party succeeds in gathering only a few adherents, then it is mass based only in potential. It remains, nevertheless, different from the cadre-type parties.

Lidhja Demokratike e Kosoves

The Party initially started out as an Albanian nationalist right-wing movement which campaigned for Kosovan independence. It was then led by Ibrahim Rugova a moderate leader who separated with the Kosovo Liberation Army faction. After the war the party remained under the conservative leadership of Rugova. The party also adopted several pro-European policies as well as moving farther to the centre of the political spectrum. However, after Rugovas' death the party went through a period of turmoil with several factions vying for control over the party. The more liberal-conservative stance of Fatmir Sejdiu took over, leading to Nexhat Daci and 6 other MAs forming the more conservative Democratic League of Dardania.

After losing seats consistently under Sejdius leadership unrest within the party began to grow and before the Kosovan parliamentary election, 2010 Isa Mustafa emerged as the new leader securing more than two thirds of the votes. Mustafas leadership has seen the party return to the more hardline conservative stance, and some politicians have even come to describe the League as a social conservative party.

The Democratic League of Kosovo (Albanian: Lidhja Demokratike e Kosovës, LDK) is the largest political party in Kosovo.

At the legislative elections held on 24 October 2004 the party won 45.4% of the popular vote or 47 out of 120 seats (seven of which have now defected to the Nexhat Daci-led Democratic League of Dardania). One of the founding members, Ibrahim Rugova was president of the party, as well as President of Kosovo, until his death on 21 January 2006. At the last legislative elections held on 17 November 2007, the party won only 22.6% and 25 seats but went on to form a Coalition government with Hashim Thaçi's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK); in October 2010, the LDK withdrew from the coalition.^[4]