The Local Roots of the Nationalization of Politics

We study variations in the degree to which parties and party systems in advanced democracies are nationalized.

By a nationalized party, researchers typically mean a party that fields candidates, or whose candidates fare equally well, across different electoral districts, resulting in a territorial homogenization of its vote share.Basing our study on quantitative data from 17 Western European countries and the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, we will highlight the local roots of the nationalization of politics.

Specifically, we focus on a new dimension of party and party system nationalization: the extent to which parties are active across several administrative levels. Drawing on this theroetical innovation, our project has three aims. First, we will conceptualize and collect cross-country data on sub-national elections.

Second, we will ask how the establishment of parties at the sub-national level causally affects their overall degree of nationalization.

Third, and finally, we will explore how the geographical dispersion of ‘who gets what, when, and how´ is shaped by the strategic entry and success of parties across different electoral districts, as well as across different administrative levels.The project will be carried during a three-year period at the Department of Political Science at Stockholm University and will generate novel insights into how electoral geography has shaped, and continues to shape, politics in established democracies.