Abstract
While party research has seen a number of conceptual developments in recent years, it has not kept pace with parties becoming more territorial as a result of the increasing importance of sub-national and supranational governance. This article lays down a framework for conceptualising and analysing multi-level parties (MLPs). We propose a synthesis of the formal and non-formal aspects of power; the former highlighting party rules and procedures, the latter focusing upon the ideational structures – norms and competing ideologies/discourses – within which party members operate. For empirical research on the MLP we propose to focus on autonomy and influence to measure the extent of (formal and non-formal) multi-levelness and to grasp better the strategies of regional branches vis-à-vis the centre.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 52-60 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Politics |
Volume | 30 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 5 Jan 2010 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Feb 2010 |
Keywords
- multi-level party
- multi-level governance
- political parties
- Welsh Labour
- institutionalism
- discourse