Evolving Party–Movement Relations After Independence Referendums: The Cases of Scotland and Catalonia

This paper examines the evolution of relationships between pro-independence parties and social movement organizations (SMOs) in the aftermath of the Scottish and Catalan referendums. Adopting a processual approach, it focuses on the meso-level to analyze how organizational networks linking institutional and non-institutional actors were reshaped once the exceptional phase of referendum mobilization came to an end. The referendums are treated as transformative events that reconfigured patterns of coordination and boundary blurring within the pro-independence camps. Rather than assuming a rupture between the referendum phase and what followed, the paper investigates the legacies of these events in terms of relational patterns, highlighting both the changes introduced after the vote and the elements that persisted from the previous phase. Particular attention is paid to how the renewed centrality of electoral competition affected party–SMO interactions. Based on a comparative qualitative analysis of original documents and 58 semi-structured interviews, the paper shows diverging post-referendum trajectories. In Scotland, the growing dominance of the SNP within both the pro-independence movement and the electoral arena constrained SMOs’ access to the party and encouraged a shift of mobilization toward non-independence issues. In Catalonia, by contrast, the main movement organization gradually lost its monopoly over social mobilization, while intensified competition among pro-independence parties undermined stable cooperation with SMOs. This paper contributes to the study of party–movement relations by focusing on inter-organizational links as concrete forms of connection between parties and SMOs. It also hints at the value of a processual approach to better understand the evolving and reciprocal nature of these relationships and their transformative potential in broader political and societal processes.