Explaining change within parties: the BNG and its trajectory from marginality to government (1982-2007)

Abstract

What implications does the evolution of minor nationalist parties from marginality to government for party internal dynamics? The third wave of nationalist mobilization in Europe defined a new political space for nationalist parties without previous political representation. This article analyzes this specific trajectory, from initial failures to government, using the case of the Galicia BNG. It explains the impact of expanding political space for internal party dynamics and organization, as well as reshaping party objectives over time. In short, decisions about party objectives were ‘soft’, of gradual adaptation to the institutional and political context, yet they radically transformed the identity and organizational dynamics of the BNG.