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In a Europe characterized by multi- level governance, two causal mechanisms
plausibly explain why deeper integration at the European Union level contributes to
increased support for regional political parties at the sub-national level. In one argument,
European integration decreases the necessity of traditional large states, thereby making
smaller more homo geneous states more viable. Therefore, the EU is an unwitting ally of
the sub-national groups against the central government. In the other line of reasoning, it is
not decreased dependence on the central government but rather fear that drives the
relationship between integration and regional political party support. Fear of yet another
foreign authority encroaching on local sovereignty or loathing of immigrants could drive
regional voters to leave mainstream parties and support alternative parties. In regions
with distinct cultural or linguistic histories, regional political parties provide a focal point
for these feelings. For both theories, then, deeper integration leads to more sub-national
mobilization in the form of support for regional political parties.
In this paper, I turn away from the inference that deeper European integration
increases sub-national mobilization and focus on the causal mechanism underlying this
relationship. In previous papers (Jolly 2004; 2005), I demonstrated that deeper integration
does in fact increase both the probability of a regional political party competing in
national parliamentary elections and their vote shares once they enter competition. In this
paper, I seek to understand whether regional parties perform better as a result of deeper
integration because they frame the EU as an ally or as an enemy.
First, I outline the basic causal mechanisms which seek to explain this
relationship between integration and sub-national mobilization. I also explain the use of
political party positions on the EU as the research domain. Second, I review the literature
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