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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Explaining Territorial Demands: Party Competition as a Driver of Self-government Claims in Decentralised Stateless Nations David Martí Tomàs PhD in Politics The University of Edinburgh 2015 Abstract The first wave of stateless nationalist mobilisation triggered decentralisation processes in several Western European states. Political autonomy provided European stateless nations with sub-state institutions with significant competences to manage their own affairs. Multinational federalism scholars have long debated whether political decentralisation to accommodate stateless nations appeases demands for secession or rather exacerbates them. Autonomous institutions created a new sub-state political system which political entrepreneurs, most significantly Stateless Nationalist and Regionalist Parties, are able to exploit to put forward demands for further empowerment of sub-state institutions. In the last decade territorial demands have been progressively raised by political parties in some Western European stateless nations, thus casting doubt on the effectiveness of political decentralisation as a valid mechanism to prevent secession. Scotland voted on independence on September 2014 whereas Catalan nationalist parties have been attempting to hold their own referendum since 2013. By looking specifically at the effects of political party competition at the sub-state level, this research aims at providing an explanation for the dynamics of territorial demands that have led to a high saliency of the territorial question in many Western European multinational states. An in-depth qualitative analysis of party competition in Catalonia aims to provide a successful explanation for the escalation of territorial demands in that country, also taking into account the role played by central institutions and the increasing support that secession shown amongst the population. The Catalan case is compared to Flanders and Scotland to test whether the dynamics of party competition can tell us a bit more about the ongoing territorial demands put forward by political parties in these three countries. The territorial accommodation of multinational states have tended to be analysed from an institutionalist perspective whereas multi-level party competition has kept a blind eye on constitutional change. This research aims at contributing to the growing literature of sub-state party politics and its capacities to explain constitutional change processes. ii Acknowledgements Writing this thesis has been the most challenging project that I have carried out in my whole life. I would not be writing these lines if not for the unpayable help, support, and encouragement of so many people. I would like first of all to thank my family for the great deal of faith they have put on me. I really hope I will be able to make it up to them one day. I would like to personally thank my grandma Antònia. She is just always there for me. Gràcies Padrina . I want to thank Professor Nicola McEwen for believing in me from the very first day I thought about the idea of doing a Ph.D. If she had not encouraged me when I first knocked on her office door asking for advice five years ago, I would not have even started. Most importantly, I would have never finished without her guidance and support during the worst times of panic and despair. Thank you very much for your patience. My most sincere thanks to Dr Eve Hepburn for being there right at the very end. Her enthusiasm has been very contagious and I want to thank her for her perennial positive attitude. Thank you as well for always highlighting the good side of everything. I want to thank the Fundació la Caixa for their economic support. I was very fortunate to be awarded one of their prestigious scholarships, and my gratitude as well to the Department of Politics for awarding me a Sir Bernard Crick scholarship in my first year. I want to thank Dr Klaus Nagel from the UPF in Barcelona for his help during my fieldwork in Catalonia and for our friendly chats in his office. I also want to thank Professor Bart Maddens from the KU Leuven for welcoming me in Flanders and for his help on guiding me through the mysteries of Belgian politics. There is also a great bunch of people I want to thank from the University of Edinburgh: Professor David McCrone for convincing me to stay on after my MSc, Dr Wilfried Swenden for taking time to read and comment on half my thesis, and my gratitude to all my colleagues from the Territorial Politics and the Theory and Practice seminars. I would also like to thank my colleagues from ENNIN, the nationalism research group, whom I should call friends. Thanks in particular to Dani, Eirik and Gëzim for the good iii times. I also want to thank my good friends Ceren and Martin for letting me stay at their place during my numerous trips back to Edinburgh between August 2014 and spring 2015. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank Nonna. For being there for me even when we are not together. I was saying above that writing this thesis has been indeed very challenging, but getting the chance to meet you is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Thank you. iv Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... iii Contents ...................................................................................................................... v List of Figures .......................................................................................................... viii List of Tables ........................................................................................................... viii List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2. Political Parties and the Dynamics of Constitutional Change ............ 7 1. Nations, Nationalism, and Multinational States ................................................. 10 2. Stateless Nationalism and Territorial Demands: Political Parties as Vehicles of Constitutional Change ............................................................................................ 15 2.1. The Rise of Stateless Nationalism ............................................................... 15 2.2. Goals and Strategies of Stateless Nationalist Movements .......................... 17 2.3. Explanations of Stateless Nationalism ........................................................ 21 2.4. The Articulation of Demands through Political Parties ............................. 24 3. State Responses to Territorial Demands: Accommodation and Territorial Management ........................................................................................................... 28 3.1. Aims and Types of Territorial Accommodation Strategies ......................... 29 3.2. The Role of Parties in Territorial Management .......................................... 35 4. Political Party Competition as a Driver of the Dynamics of Constitutional Change.................................................................................................................... 38 4.1. The Persistency of Territorial Demands ..................................................... 38 4.2. Institutional Factors Contributing to Territorial Demands ........................ 40 4.3. Party Competition as the Main Driver of Territorial Demands ................. 43 Chapter 3. Research Question, Methodology, and Research Methods ............... 49 1. Research Question .............................................................................................. 49 2. Methodology ...................................................................................................... 52 2.1. The Dependent Variable: Territorial Demands .......................................... 52 2.2. Independent Variables and Hypotheses ...................................................... 55 3. Methodology: Case Study Analysis ................................................................... 64 v 3.1. Case Studies: Catalonia, Flanders and Scotland ....................................... 68 3.2. Case Choice Justification ............................................................................ 75 3.3. Research Timeframe and Research Methods .............................................. 77 Chapter 4. Political Parties and Territorial Demands in Catalonia .................... 79 1. Introduction