Known by names such as “peripheral”, “territorial”, “(ethno)regionalist”, and “minority nationalist” political parties, stateless nationalist and regionalist parties (SNRPs) have become increasingly present in electoral politics, particularly in devolved or devolving systems. This paper will explore how these parties frame their arguments for regional empowerment, be it on economic, functional, or cultural terms. While most research on SNRPs has consisted of detailed case studies of individual parties, this paper’s empirical analysis will take a large-N, diachronic, and computer-assisted approach. A quantitative content analysis of SNRP party platforms over time will allow us to seek out some overall trends within this group of parties. More specifically, this paper is concerned with the following questions: is it possible to speak of SNRPs that use predominantly economic, functional, or cultural frames? Are there SNRPs switch frames depending on the political or historical juncture? Do any cross-party trends exist in frame usage over time?
