Breaking the Mold? The Rise of Aliança Catalana

Abstract

Abstract

The study examines the emergence of Aliança Catalana (AC), a Catalan nationalist party that entered the Parliament of Catalonia in 2024 and is characterized by an anti-immigration discourse associated with the radical right. It analyses its electorate and compares it with that of Junts (its main competitor along ideological and territorial dimensions) and Vox (with which it shares an anti-immigration stance but from which it differs substantially on the national question). The study situates AC within the broader literature on the intersection between regionalism and the radical right, outlines its ideological profile, and employs empirical models to assess voter differences, thereby clarifying the political space it occupies and its differentiation from other parties. Findings indicate that AC supporters are less supportive of Catalan independence and display higher levels of institutional distrust than Junts voters. Unlike Vox voters, AC supporters are Catalanist and less ideologically extreme. Overall, AC occupies a distinctive position within Catalan nationalism, challenging the existing party system and reshaping the regional political landscape. Its rise is interpreted in the context of broader European patterns of radical right regionalist mobilization. The study contributes to the limited literature on regionalist radical right parties.