The Impact of Legislative Reforms on Party System Change

What is the impact of legislative reforms on party system change and stability? This article provides a detailed account of how rules impact on party system stability. We trace all legislative reforms relevant to political parties, which include amendments to electoral laws, party finance law and party laws. The central argument is that party system change does not depend solely on changes to electoral laws or on value changes within societies. Changes to the other party laws are also key to explaining changes in the structure of competition. The analysis provides a longitudinal study on the impact of rule change on relevant dimensions of the Romanian party system. The results draw attention to the importance of permissive and restrictive rules and their implementation on the process of party system change and stability.