ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATIONS OF WELSH NATIONALIST PARTY ACTIVISTS

Abstract

<p>A considerable amount of attention has been paid by political scientists to the rise of public voting support for third parties, including separatist parties in such western democratic states as Canada and the United Kingdom. This study, .however, attempts to probe within such a party in order to discover the characteristics of its active members rather than its voting supporters. It is hypothesized that here very different factors may be operating. <br /><br /> The study focuses on a group of activist members of Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Nationalist Party, whose motivations and attitudes are diagnosed, together with their consequences for political action. The importance of cultural and idealistic as against political and economic motivations is examined, while the major attitudinal dimensions considered are those of political efficacy and opinions on the use of violence and other extra-legal methods, both of which are central to an understanding of the nature of Plaid Cymru as a political party. Finally, party activity, as an indicator of depth of involvement in the party, is examined, together with those factors which determine its intensity. In these ways it is hoped to construct a theory of separatist party involvement which may supplement existing models attempting to explain the rise of third parties.</p>