Volt Europa: The Path to Institution-Hood

Abstract

The transnational movement Volt Europa is a novel attempt at creating an arena of transnational politics within the European Union. Since the early 2000s there have been previous unsuccessful attempts at creating pan-European political parties. However, Volt, which was formed in 2017, seeks to solidify its position in the coming years after having gained a seat in the 2019 European Parliament elections. Developing on a recent conceptualization of the theory of political party institutionalization, this paper asks whether the theoretical model as proposed by Harmel et. al (2018) can be analytically applied to a pan-European political party. Using a case study methodology, I analyze the levels of internal, external, and objective institutionalization of Volt. Through an analysis of the movement’s documents, semi-structured qualitative interviews with board members, and participant observation I demonstrate that the constrains and opportunities of pan-European political parties are unique and demand an adaptation of the theoretical model of political party institutionalization employed for their analysis. The article contributes to the literature on political party institutionalization by expanding into previously uncharted territory and sheds light on the potentials and limitations of transnational European party politics as a yet understudied development.