Factors Influencing Changes in Parliamentary Statutory Rules in Slovenia

Several main factors have influenced the beginning of debate cycles regarding statutory rule changes in Slovenia: a) institutional adaptation to modernisation processes linked to the development of a liberal-type democracy; b) the political prioritisation of EU integration processes (also among other fields) in the institutional adaptation of the national parliament for the speedy adoption of the acquis; and c) the changing characteristics of the party system. The influence of these factors has fluctuated over time. Whereas during the 1990s responses to modernisation pressures and the changing characteristics of the party system prevailed, adaptations to European pressures remained the most important from the end of the 1990s until recently. In the context of a relatively consolidated young democracy, including consolidation of the party system (after Slovenia’s full EU membership), ‘normalisation’ in terms of party struggles over the statutory rules in order to maximise political gains can be expected to predominate in the future.