The goal of this paper is to explore electoral competition from the perspective of intra-ethnic party systems. A large body of the literature on the electoral fortunes of ethnic parties focuses on the winner(s) of seats at the national level or on the provisions in the electoral systems that favor or prevent the access to seats, ignoring the often complex political dynamics within the minorities that precede this outcome. The research question that drives this research is: What are the causes that explain the different levels of intensity in electoral competition within intra-ethnic party systems in post-communist Europe? I use Qualitative Comparative Analysis to explore the impact and the interaction between several potential explanations, ranging from the opportunities structures shaped by the electoral system to the involvement of mother-states in the political life of minorities. I cover six post-communist states - Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia - and I look at the period from the fall of communism until today, spliting it into electoral cycles for each country.
