Astrid Barrio

Going National: Ciudadanos from Catalonia to Spain

Abstract Ciudadanos, a party founded in Catalonia in 2006, has recently acquired a major role in the Spanish political system. This article examines why it was formed almost ten years ago and how it has evolved since; its ideological principles and policy menu; the party organisation and leadership; the main determinants of its vote, and the structure of opportunities faced by the party in the 2015 general election. It considers Ciudadanos in two different contexts ‒ Catalonia and all Spain ‒ and in two different ‘time zones’: before 2014, when the party was mainly a regional force, and after that date. In each context, the party seems to have responded to the unsatisfied demands resulting from the double electoral market failure of the last decade in Spain and Catalonia.

Fast and Furious: Podemos’ Quest for Power in Multi-level Spain

Abstract After a stunning breakthrough in the 2014 European election, Podemos became the third largest parliamentary party in Spain in the 2016 general election and achieved representation in all regions. This article examines how Podemos has adapted to the opportunities and dilemmas posed by Spain’s multi-level setting in several ways: its formation in early 2014 and its evolution since; its ideological principles and policy menu; its organisation; and its political strategies and electoral alliances. The hypotheses test the effects of adaptation to multi-level competition on the party electorate. The findings indicate the positive effect of support for more decentralisation on the likelihood of voting for Podemos, but also how this effect is territorially differentiated and could affect the party’s cohesion and internal debate.

The Carrot and the Stick: Party Regulation and Politics in Democratic Spain

Party regulation in new democracies in general, and in the Spanish political system in particular, has not been a matter of concern until very recently. In order to fill this gap, this article explores the way political parties have been regulated not only in the Constitution, but also in the main laws regulating party foundation, organisation, dissolution and, not least, funding: namely, the 1978 and 2002 Political Party Laws as well as the 1985 and 2007 Party Funding Laws. The empirical part explores the impact such regulation has had on the Spanish party system as well as on the life of its party organisations.

Reducing the gap between leaders and voters? Elite polarization, outbidding competition, and the rise of secessionism in Catalonia

ABSTRACT The ethnic outbidding thesis explains party polarization as a consequence of political changes amongst voters. We argued instead that party elites’ extreme position on the national identity cleavage can help polarizing strategies to prevail over moderate strategies in a context of increasing political uncertainty, without previous voters’ polarization. We test successfully this hypothesis in Catalonia by analysing the polarization of political parties and people’s demands for self-government in Catalonia since the early 2000s. We also find that the result of this outbidding pattern of competition was a reduction in the gap between elites’ and voters’ views on national identity. The analysis employs a set of unique data on party elites and activists’ national identity, from several surveys conducted on the delegates at party conferences of the main Catalan parties between 1996 and 2012. Our data provide empirical support for the argument that ethnic polarization is mainly an elite-driven process.

How Does May’s Law Work in Multi-dimensional Competition? Intra-party Opinion Structure in Catalonia

Abstract This article explores how multi-dimensional competition party systems shape the intraparty opinion structure in political parties. The aim is to extend and test May’s law of ideological curvilinear disparity to multi-dimensional settings. The data are based on the case of Catalonia, a party system characterized by the relevant presence of non-state wide parties, where political competition is based on two main dimensions: the left right axis and the subjective national identity one. The paper shows that while the Catalan parties do fit with May’s law in the left-right axis, this is not the case in the national identity one. In addition, it further illustrates how the interaction between both axes affects party competition and internal opinion differences between leaders, activists and voters. The results attest the complexity of the intraparty opinion structures in multidimensional competition systems.

New parties’ linkages with external groups and civil society in Spain: A preliminary assessment

Abstract The aim of this article is to assess the linkages between the Spanish new parties with groups and civil society. After outlining a short framework on the new linkages between parties and external groups in times of social and political unrest and discussing the case selection, it briefly introduces the classic patterns of interaction between Spain’s mainstream parties, the PP and the PSOE and the main interest groups since the late 1970s. Then, the paper analyses the emerging links of two new parties, Ciudadanos and Podemos, in order to provide a general assessment of the main differences between their linkages and the ones of the traditional parties, and to discuss its possible implications in times of economic hardship. The results do not show strong evidence supporting the idea of a transformation in Spanish party-group linkages: new parties tend to have weaker formal links with external groups, and prioritize their collaboration with new external groups such as identity or youth groups rather than with classic interest groups.