Introduction

Abstract

This study addresses a theme of central importance to our understanding of party politics in Western Europe. It explores how party competition and party organization evolve in democratic multi-layered settings. Democratic multi-layered settings are characterized by the existence of at least two political levels (state and substate) in which electoral and parliamentary competition for the representation of citizens and for the making of public policies takes place. While there are many assumptions around, we lack systematic comparative knowledge on how party politics works in such an environment.