The paper presents the main trends in the evolution of intra-party democracy (IPD) since the mid-20th century, when parties criticized for becoming elitist and distant from their members and voters, started to introduce reforms in their internal organization. The changes, aimed at more inclusive solutions, were referred to as ‘democratization’. In this paper, the development of the patterns of IPD is discussed not in terms of ‘democratization’ in the sense of ameliorating the democratic performance but as a search for more effective models of democracy, beyond the representative one. The latest cases of development of IPD based on the Internet and online platforms and the possibilities they offer are also included. Apart from changes introduced by parties, the results and consequences of those reforms are also discussed.