ABSTRACT
Decentralization of authority upwards to the European Union and downwards to regional governments have made government undeniably multilevel in nature. A proliferation of electoral institutions at the European and regional levels has coincided with a trend of decentralization of authority away from national government. The European Union has developed into a truly multilevel party system whereby citizens have multiple opportunities to voice their preferences about policy and to elect their representatives who can decide upon important policies. In this chapter, the author explores the extent to which these trends have changed the ‘political borders’ of party systems by studying the level of integration in the European multilevel party system.
