ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relationships between political parties and social movements, conceptually and empirically. A theoretical account is provided, emphasising the importance of understanding the interactions between parties and movements. These ideas are applied to the SNP and Scottish Greens. The chapter considers the place of the parties in movement politics prior the 2014 referendum, during the campaign and beyond. It also introduces our survey data on party members’ perceptions of the referendum campaign and their involvement in movement politics. We argue that the campaign is best understood as two complementary campaigns (movement and party), but the SNP had the lead role. The 2014 campaign represented a ‘movement moment’, and to a degree the membership surge involved a transition from movement to party.
