Parties’ views on decentralisation are determined by their economic and cultural positions

Decentralisation has been one of the principal forces driving constitutional change in European democracies over the past few decades. Using data covering 284 parties in 31 separate countries, Simon Toubeau and Markus Wagner assess the link between policies on decentralisation, and parties’ ideology on economic and cultural matters. They illustrate that parties form their stance on decentralisation with close reference to their economic and cultural value positions. This effect is influenced, however, by factors such as the degree of self-rule afforded to regions, the existence of regional economic disparities, and the ideological distance of regionalist parties at the national level.