Do stateless-nationalist-regionalist-parties differ from other party types? Comparing organisational reform processes in Plaid Cymru and the Scottish national party

Abstract

There has been a tendency to treat Stateless-Nationalist-Regionalist Parties (SNRPs) as special cases when compared with other party types. With the spread of sub-state governmental institutions across Europe, recent literature on SNRPs has started to look at these parties from an institutional perspective compared with more traditional approaches. Despite a vast amount of literature covering party organisation, the way in which SNRPs reform their party organisation and how sub-state institutions shape that organisational reform has been given little attention. This article aims to partially address this gap by analysing the organisational reform processes of two SNRPs, Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party. The article argues that these two particular parties are indeed very similar to other party types in this regard, albeit in the context of party specific contexts. The article draws on a number of interviews conducted with elites from both parties, as well as a range of relevant documentary sources.