| There is much variation in the success of niche parties in Europe. For example, in 2010, the N-VA, a nationalist party in Flanders, became the largest party in the Belgian party system, while other parties, like the radical right wing party Front National in Wallonia, average less than two percent of the vote at elections. This brings us to an important puzzle -- why have some niche parties achieved tremendous electoral successes, while others remain on the margins of the party system or fade away entirely.;This dissertation considers three factors relating to the development of niche parties---political opportunity, indigenous resources, and grievances. I argue that political decentralization presents an opening in the political opportunity structure to all niche parties in the party system. However, not all niche parties are equally situated to capitalize on this opening. In short, I argue that niche party success is most likely after the establishment of regional elections if a niche party is able to pull leadership and membership from an established social movement organization and when the party's platform centers on grievances relevant at the regional or constituency level.;To briefly summarize the findings of this thesis, while fifteen niche parties are examined in this study, only four are categorized as a complete success: the Front National, the Scottish National Party, Vlaams Blok, and Plaid Cymru. Each of these parties were able to pull leadership and membership from active social movement organizations after devolution and they each put forth platforms appealing to relevant grievances at the regional level, which enabled the parties to gain in electoral strength at the polls after devolution. The findings reached by this thesis indicate that devolution, social movement organization, and grievances are three variables that may greatly affect whether a niche party is able to make electoral gains and participate in government, or remains inconsequential in a party system. |
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