Predicting stateless, nationalist and regionalist party members’ attitudes to immigration: evidence from the Scottish National Party and Frisian National Party

Support for cultural pluralism, pro-immigration policies and positive attitudes towards multiculturalism are important aspects for maintaining an inclusive party image of civic Stateless Nationalist and Regionalist Parties (SNRPs). Negative attitudes towards such issues can cause considerable damage to the party image due to the negative linkages that can be made with their nationalist ideology. SNRPs are united in their desire for constitutional change in their polity but are broad churches that attract support from across the political spectrum. Its members often hold eclectic views on a range of issues, including issues involving cultural pluralism and immigration. Based on SNRP literature and the broader party political three factors - ideological position, conceptions of national identity and position in the party hierarchy – are examined that help to explain divergent attitudes towards cultural pluralism is SNRP memberships. The paper empirically tests the relation between these factors and attitudes towards cultural pluralism in two SNRPs – the Scottish National Party and Frisian National Party. The paper draws evidence from two unique full party membership studies and is supported with evidence from documentary analysis.