The Contingent Nature of Local Party System Nationalisation: The Case of Austria 1985–2009

Abstract

Previous studies have found that Austria has one of the most nationalized party systems in Western Europe. Using local election data from over 2300 municipalities between 1985 and 2009, we show that nationalisation of the party system varies considerably across regions. We demonstrate that variation in the organisational strength of regional party branches accounts for this finding, even when controlling for municipality size and the time dimension.

Key Words:

• Austria
• local lists
• nationalisation
• parties
• local party systems

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the participants in the 2^nd International Workshop on Independents and Minor Parties, Halle, Germany, November 2009 for comments and suggestions on a previous version of this paper.