A National Party in a Regional Party System: The PSC-PSOE in Catalonia

Abstract
The regional behaviour of state-wide political parties is a largely ignored topic, despite the widespread trend towards decentralization in Western Europe. This article presents a framework to study this phenomenon. It identifies strategic dilemmas and organizational and policy choices faced by regional branches of national parties, and suggests factors influencing these choices. A case study of the Socialist party in Catalonia (PSC-PSOE) provides a first test. This party's strategic choices and successes reflect the identified dilemmas, and have varied over time. Influential factors in these choices have been the decentralization of the Spanish state, dual identity patterns and regional party leadership.

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