Scaling Down: Behavioural Patterns of Parties and MPs at Subnational Level

Abstract

Comparative studies of parties’ and MPs’ behaviour at country-level often face a severe problem: There are too few and too heterogeneous cases to allow for valid causal inferences. Hence, different studies of the same research question often come to conflicting explanations. Shifting the level of analysis down to the sub-national level is one fruitful counter-strategy. It increases the number of observations while still allowing for controlled comparison. This panel discusses qualitative and quantitative studies using sub-national units of analysis in order to explain the actions of parties and MPs. Within this methodological focus, a wide spectrum of behavioural patterns might be addressed including coalition formation processes, effects of electoral incentives on party’s and MP’s behaviour, policy formation, explanations of party unity and party positions.

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