ABSTRACT
The main goal of this volume has been to explain the success of regionalist parties in Western Europe. More specifi cally, it has looked at three different areas of success: electoral success, success in offi ce and policy success. Since the main emphasis was placed on the last, this book has attempted to evaluate the achievements of regionalist parties in terms of actually changing collective decision. It has investigated the capacity of regionalist parties to do so and the interaction with, or rather the contribution by, electoral and offi ce success in that regard. Our examination has proceeded via in-depth studies of nine regionalist parties in six different countries: the Scottish National Party (SNP), the Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern e.V. (CSU), the Convergència i Unió (CiU), the Eusko Alderdi Jeltzalea/Partido Nacionalista Vasco (EAJ/PNV), the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA), the Fédéralistes Démocrates Francophones (FDF), the Südtiroler Volkspartei (SVP), the Lega Nord (LN) and the Lega dei Ticinesi (LdT).
