Why did the Green Party in Britain lose support across the 1990s as the electorate became more environmentally minded? How did the Front National overcome the institutional barriers to minor parties to become the number three party in France? Why did the support of the “institutionally advantaged” SNP wax and wane between 1970 and 1997?

The goal of Chapters 5, 6, and 7 has been to examine the electoral fortunes of these niche parties and find answers to these puzzles. In each case, the in-depth evidence has highlighted the insufficiency of the standard institutional and sociological explanations. Rather, examination of party documents, survey data, and interviews with party officials has demonstrated the central role of mainstream parties in determining the electoral highs and lows of each niche party. British and French mainstream parties have adopted strategies to deliberately manipulate the vote share of these green, radical right, and ethnoterritorial parties in order to improve their own electoral position vis-à-vis their mainstream party opponent. And as the survey data have confirmed, these mainstream parties have benefited from a more potent set of tactics than previously recognized; they have altered niche party support not just by shifting their positions on the niche party's issue but also by influencing the perceived salience and ownership of the issue.