Living Apart Together? The Multilevel Organisation of Political Parties in an EU Context

This paper aims to explain the organisation of political parties vis-à-vis the EU by applying insights from federal scholarship. The central argument is that parties are likely to mirror the EU's institutional environment into their own organisation. This institutional environment is defined as the division of power between governance levels, the legislative decision-making procedure and the structure of the European party system. This argument assumes that parties will organise to allow for effective action in the arena where most power is to be gained, hence following the (de)centralisation of political power. However, while the EU holds significant policy-making powers (resembling cooperative federalism), its political relevance is still underwhelming and the party system is split (resembling dual federalism). Based on these characteristics of the EU, the paper proposes four types of party organisations and puts forward a number of hypotheses on how to categories different parties. Drawing on rich and original data from a series of elite interviews with senior (EU) party figures, this argument is tested empirically by conducting an in-depth analysis on parties in Flanders (Belgium). We find that, while parties partly mirror the EU institutions, the organisational strategies they use vary significantly. This does not mean that the federal argument should be abandoned altogether. Rather, the paper proposes a number of ways in which the theory can be updated for the EU context. By focusing on the supply side (parties’ organisational behaviour) of the European multi-level electoral system and considering systemic factors as crucial for a party's organisation, our paper nicely fits into this workshop on how EU crises affect voters, parties and elections. Moreover, it holds important repercussions for the EU's democratic deficit and the role parties play in the rise of euroscepticism and the EU's crisis of legitimacy.